Happy Birthday to PAM GRIER – Here Are Her Ten Best Films

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Happy Birthday to one of WAMG’s favorite movie stars! Pam’s iconic movie career began when she moved to Los Angeles in the late ‘60s from her native North Carolina at age 18. After a tiny role in Russ Meyer’s BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970), she landed a job as a receptionist for American International Pictures where she was discovered by Jack Hill, an AIP director who cast her in a pair of women’s prison films: THE BIG DOLL HOUSE (1971) and THE BIG BIRD CAGE (1972). Soon she was known as the “Queen of Blaxploitation” at a time when film roles for African-American women were, as Grier puts it, “practically invisible, or painfully stereotypical”.

Here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are Pam Grier’s ten best films.

Honorable Mention: GREASED LIGHTNING

GREASED LIGHTNING is a biographical film about Wendell Scott (Richard Pryor) the first African American to drive in Nascar races.   As you would expect, especially in a 1970s movie, the Anglo Americans are not too happy about Scott’s ambitions and do everything possible to stop him.   Pryor is excellent in a rare dramatic role and Beau Bridges is good as a white mechanic who is open minded enough to help him out.  Pam Grier does quite a lot with a role that could have been by the numbers, Scott’s wife Mary.   She is nothing less than a tower of strength for Scott when the odds seem impossibly stacked against him.   Greased Lightening was not a bit hit when it was released and it is pretty much forgotten these days.  I saw it in a theater during my tour of duty in the Navy and showed it on my tv station, it was quite popular with the crew, black and white. It deserves to be better known.

10. MARS ATTACKS

Bouncing back from the lukewarm box office return of ED WOOD, Tim Burton decided to bring another beloved childhood icon to the big screen. But rather than grabbing up another character from comic books, as with his pair of BATMAN films, he turned to trading cards. These adored (by kids) “bubblegum” cards told the grisly story of alien invasion in MARS ATTACKS! Burton filled the movie with well-known names, an all-star cast in the tradition of Irwin Allen’s 70’s disaster epics. The main story locales were Washington D.C. and Las Vegas, and Pam Grier’s character was connected to both. In “sin city” we meet former prizefighter turned greeter/ entertainer Byron Williams (Jim Brown) at an Egyptian-themed casino. As his boss glares, Byron makes a call to DC, where his ex-wife Louise (Grier) is trying to pry their pre-teen boys Cedric and Neville away from a “shooter” video game. He assures her that he will be visiting them soon (still a lot of affection between these two). We next see Louise on the job, driving a public transit bus through the busy streets of the capitol. She spies her sons at a video arcade, and slams on the brakes. She will not tolerate them skipping school, so she drags them out of the arcade and loads them on to the bus as the very understanding passengers applaud and cheer. In this film, the glamorous action icon
gets to show her maternal side. She’s a concerned loving parent, and that love can be of the “tough” variety when crossed. The no-nonsense matriarch will set those two back on the “straight and narrow’, no doubt about it. Unfortunately she’s sidelined during the Martian attack on DC, pleading with Byron long distance while admonishing their sons to take cover (I’m sure she could wipe out a platoon of those bulbous-headed bums). When the invaders are vanquished, Louise enlists the boys in trying to tidy up their apartment (though the building’s missing a wall), just as Byron returns. Later that year Grier and Brown would share the screen more in ORIGINAL GANGSTAS (a nostalgic return to their screen roots), but both are a welcome addition to this sci-fi satire extravaganza.

9. FORT APACHE THE BRONX

As the 1970’s came to a close, Pam Grier entered a new phase of her prolific career. Using an academic metaphor, she graduated from Grindhouse High to Big Budget University. Perhaps the 1980’s was closer to baseball as Ms. Grier was called up to the big leagues AKA major movie studios from the quickie, but very entertaining, exploitation minor leagues. 1981’s FORT APACHE: THE BRONX was an “A-list” prestige picture from Twentieth Century Fox headline by a major movie star, Paul Newman, and a very hot TV star Ed Asner, grabbing big ratings as the lead of “Lou Grant”. Though she shared no scenes with either, Grier was an essential part of Daniel Petrie’s gritty modern-day police drama. She truly sets the tone for the story in the first scene, as drug-addled working girl Charlotte emerges like a tawdry phoenix from the rubble and filth of the Bronx. Sporting a cheap blonde wig and nearly bursting through a fluorescent print cocktail dress, she elicits chuckles from two cops having lunch in a patrol car, as she staggers toward them. Their laughter is soon cut short when their banter (she slurs, “Ahm’ on the job, too”) prompts her to unload her pistol into them. She stumbles back into the city’s squalor while human vultures descend on the squad car. We catch a brief glimpse of her later during a street riot. She returns in the dark of night when a middle-aged “joe’s” car has a flat . Appearing out of the shadows, Charlotte is a modern siren, luring the man to the rocks, actually a nearby rotting tenement, with the promise of free fleshy delights. In one of the film’s most memorable sequences, she begins a teasing dance of temptation, one that ends not in pleasure, but in slashing bloody horror from a razor blade, clenched behind her teeth, glistening as she smiles. Things backfire with her next prey, as Charlotte become yet another discard piled upon the urban trash heap. Grier’s screen time is far too brief, but her “angel of death” is a most compelling, charismatic presence.

8. SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM

SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM (1973) was a funky and fun, if rushed, sequel to the hit BLACULA, which brought Vampires into Blaxploitation cinema for the first time the year before. The success of BLACULA  spawned a bunch of other Blaxploitation/Horror hybrids, such as BLACKENSTEIN, DR. BLACK AND MR. HYDE, and ABBY – THE BLACK EXORCIST. SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM once again delivered a groovy 70s vibe, and the distinguished William Marshall was more than cool in the eponymous role. What makes this film especially worthwhile was the casting of  the wonderful Pam Grier as Lisa Fortier who becomes the new voodoo priestess after her elderly predecessor dies, though not before using her skills to resurrect Prince Mamuwalde  (aka Blacula). As in the first film, Mamuwalde is not really a villain, but merely a tormented soul who cannot help but satisfy his thirst for human blood in order to survive. Soon after his resurrection, he runs into Lisa, a beautiful young woman who has particularly powerful Voodoo-skills. The whole thing is strange and ridiculous and stupid and clever and terrible and wonderful, a movie that richly deserves its place on a list of Pam Grier’s best.

7.  SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES 

The writing of Ray Bradbury is notoriously hard to capture on film. Some adaptations are almost complete disasters, Illustrated Man anyone?   Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451 is one exception and Something Wicked this Way Comes (1983) is another.   Bradbury was one of the first authors to realize the basic creepiness of carnivals and circus’s.  Along with Jack Finney’s brilliant Circus of Dr Lao, Something Wicked This Way Comes tells of a carnival coming to a small town where in something sinister is happening.  Among the attractions at Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show  (I love that name!) is the Dust Witch, played with such elegance and grace by Pam Grier I found it hard to believe this was the same woman who made whupping ass an everyday activity.  The Dust Witch has very dark magic at her command, but Something Wicked is the rare horror movie, especially from the 1980s, where good wins out over evil.

6. THE BIG DOLL HOUSE 

In 1971, cinematic history was made with the release of THE BIG DOLL HOUSE, directed by Jack Hill and co-starring Pam Grier in her first feature role.  Hill had been recommended to producer Roger Corman by Francis Ford Coppola, Corman’s first choice to direct the film and a friend of Hill’s from UCLA film school.   Corman had just formed his New World Pictures studio and wanted proven types of stories with guaranteed box office.  He got more than he bargained for with DOLL HOUSE, which not only was a huge financial success, but also established the blueprint for “women in prison” exploitation films for decades to come.  Dispensing with the previous melodramatic storylines in such big studio product as CAGED and SNAKE PIT, Hill instead opted for more realistic, sometimes graphic situations.  He also determined to put his women characters in roles of power, just as if the film starred Cagney or Bogart.  These were real females who swore profusely, had a healthy regard for sex, and weren’t afraid of automatic weapons.  Hill also gathered a memorable ensemble of young actresses to surround Pam:  Roberta Collins (CAGED HEAT, DEATH RACE 2000), Judy Brown (WILLIE DYNAMITE, SLAUGHTER’S BIG RIPOFF), Brooke Mills (DREAM NO EVIL), and Pat Woodell (miles away from her role as the original Bobbie Jo on TVs PETTICOAT JUNCTION).   The film hits all the obligatory exploitation marks (shower scene, torture scenes, girlfights, etc.) and Pam even gets to sing the main title song  “Long-time Woman” for the movie.  When Corman asked Hill to do a sequel to DOLL HOUSE the following year, there were already cheap imitators and rip-offs flooding the drive-in market (Grier herself had made WOMEN IN CAGES right after DOLL HOUSE), so Hill decided to create a semi-spoof of the genre and wrote THE BIG BIRD CAGE with a starring role for Grier (fun fact:  the “cage” of the title was a working sugar mill designed by Hill’s father, who also designed the castle at Disneyland!).  Whether seen as feminist manifesto (“All men are filthy!”) or no-holds-barred cult film with kick-ass women, BIG DOLL HOUSE is a blast from start to finish and required viewing of 1970s cinema.

5.  DRUM 

Any movie that finds Pam Grier in bed with Warren Oates has to be considered a must-see 70’s classic. MANDINGO, a 1975 movie about sexual shenanigans between masters and slaves on the Falconhurst slave-breeding plantation, was savaged by critics who saw it as nothing but degrading, big-budget exploitation. Roger Ebert called it “racist trash” and MANDINGO certainly had it all; brutal violence, interracial sex, rape, infanticide, lynchings, and abundant nudity.  But of course it was a huge hit and inspired a brief run of “slaverysploitation” films such as PASSION PLANTATION (1976) and SLAVERS (1978). MANDINGO was overwrought melodrama to be sure, but it’s a model of subtlety compared to its official sequel, the more lascivious DRUM, a mean-spirited trash epic from 1976 that would never fly in today’s politically correct climate. DRUM’s tawdry story picks up about 20 years after MANDINGO. Hammond Maxwell (Warren Oates), the son of the late Falconhurst patriarch Warren Maxwell purchases a slave named Drum from bordello hostess Marianna (Isela Vega). Drum turns out to be the son of Mede (killed at the end of MANDIGO), the slave who had murdered Hammond’s father. Hammond uses Mede and his friend Blaise (Yaphet Kotto) to fight in ridiculous gladiator battles as entertainment for the ‘white folk’. Slave Regine (Pam Grier) is Hammond’s favorite ‘bed wench’ but develops a romance with Drum. Hammond’s bratty slut daughter Sophie (Rainbeaux Smith) stirs up trouble between Drum and Blaise by trying to have sex with both of them and then lying to her father that Blaise tried to rape her and a campy gay French slave trader (John Colicos) wants to bed black stud Drum as well. Tensions build, emotions erupt and by the end of the movie, a mansion is on fire, the black slaves have revolted    against the ‘mastas’ wielding scythes and knives, while the white men battle it out with their muskets and rifles. Where MANDINGO was at least pretentious and literary (and had a dignified performance by James Mason as Warren Maxwell), DRUM makes no pretense at being anything except cheap thrills exploitation and ups the sleaze quotient by adding lesbianism, incest, castration, and a swishy gay villain to the mix. DRUM is more fast-paced and entertaining than its predecessor.

4.  BLACK MAMA WHITE MAMA

Inspired by Stanley Kramer’s THE DEFIANT ONES (starring Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis), BLACK MAMA WHITE MAMA (1973) has no thematic pretensions concerning racism and social inequality.  This is first and foremost a women’s prison exploitation film, and contains all the required elements that sub-genre is known for.  The first third of the film takes place in the prison, where hot-tempered prostitute Lee (Grier) meets idealistic activist Karen (Margaret Markov), and the women take an immediate dislike to each other.  So of course, they end up chained together for most of the film.  However, they first have to deal with the usual women’s prison indignities including the wonderful Lynn Borden as a predatory lesbian guard.  Soon, the jailbreak is on, and most of the film is Lee and Karen on the run from gangsters, dogs, revolutionaries, corrupt cops, and vile locals.  Pam has some wonderful dialogue that she delivers with angry and bitter sassiness, and Markov balances the tone with her luminous political fervor.  The inevitable fight between the two is a highlight of the movie, as Pam found with Markov another statuesque and strong woman who could match her physicality (the two actresses would work together again a few years later in THE ARENA, another ‘70s classic).  Directed by Eddie Romero (the cult films SAVAGE SISTERS, BEAST OF BLOOD, TWILIGHT PEOPLE), the movie is a lean action treat with a darkly cynical ending.

3.  FOXY BROWN

FOXY BROWN (1974) is a wild story of sex, drugs, and vengeance featuring Pam Grier in probably her most iconic role. When drug pusher Link Brown (Antonio Fargas) loses half a kilo of cocaine worth $20k, his suppliers become irate and send two thugs to work him over. Desperately needing help, he calls his sister Foxy (Pam Grier) to rescue him from the two goons. She manages to get to him before they can grab him and puts him up at her place for a few days completely unaware of the exact nature of his predicament. In addition to that, her boyfriend (Terry Carter) is an undercover cop who has just undergone a face-lift and assumed a new identity because the same suppliers have a contract out on his head. Things begin to take a turn for the worse and Foxy Brown suddenly has a score or two to settle with some major league drug dealers. FOXY BROWN was written and shot to be a sequel to director Jack Hill’s previous film, COFFY where Grier played a nurse with a bad attitude and a penchant for taking her aggression out on mother**kers who wronged her. For some reason, the studio forced Hill to make Foxy Brown stand-alone at the last minute, changing… well, nothing really. The opening credits to FOXY BROWN are like a funked-out version of a 007 intro with Foxy dancing around in front of multi-colored backgrounds, all the while rocking her outfits from the film. The title sequence employs almost every trick in the title design book, from image rotoscoping and solarization to multi-layered optical animation and colorization. One of the best scenes in FOXY BROWN has to do with one of Foxy’s friends, who, though she is supposed to be laying low (people need to “lay low” often in Foxy’s world), wanders into a lesbian bar and Foxy has to get her out. This lesbian bar needs to be seen to be believed. All of the women dress like teamsters, only more macho. And in a wonderful endorsement of equal rights, these female bar patrons are just as violent, rude, and prone to fight over nothing as any beer-belching men.

2.  COFFY

When director Jack Hill was asked by American International Pictures to direct a “black woman’s revenge movie,” he immediately insisted on casting his favorite actress Pam Grier.  The resulting cult classic was COFFY (1973), which was a huge hit and helped launch the “blaxploitation” films of the 1970s.  It also contains one of Grier’s finest performances.  Grier portrays “Coffy” Coffin, nurse by day and angel of vengeance by night.  She is out to get anyone who was involved in turning her younger sister into a “smack addict at 11…..her whole life is gone!”  And Coffy doesn’t care how high up the junkie food chain she has to go – even to the top dog himself.  Along the way, she shoots, stabs, and fights her way on a one-woman rampage to rid the world of drug pushers and avenge her sister.  Hill wisely created the role of a woman with no special skills—she’s not a martial arts expert or professional assassin.  She is a strong, smart woman who relies on her wiles, intelligence, and, yes, her sexuality to help her achieve her goals.  However, she’s not just a killing machine; she wonders throughout the movie if she’s in some kind of dream—an allusion to the “dream state” that ancient warriors achieved before they went into battle.  In this early film, as she has her entire career, Grier shows why she’s a true star:   her unique blend of physically imposing power with a natural ability to show vulnerability and raw emotion.  At the end of the film, when she declares, “I loved you!  I loved you so much!” your heart breaks a little bit.

1.  JACKIE BROWN

When JACKIE BROWN was released in 1997, expectations were off the charts. It had been three and a half long years since Quentin Tarantino had rocked the movie world with the one-two punch of RESERVOIR DOGS (1992) and PULP FICTION (1994). Tarantino had the clout to cast anyone he wanted for JACKIE BROWN (1997), the film he adapted from Elmore Leonard’s novel Rum Punch, and I’m sure most of Hollywood wanted to work with him, and he put together his usual imaginative ensemble of major players, 70’s comeback stars, and fresh blood. Pam Grier was the now-mature siren of Blaxploitation, the star of many wonderful 70’s urban classics such as COFFY (1973), BLACK MAMMA WHITE MAMMA (1973), FOXY BROWN (1974) and BUCKTOWN (1975). With her distinctive mega-fro, Grier was a statuesque, articulate ass-kicker in these films and Tarantino was a huge fan (she’s mentioned by name in his scripts for both RESERVOIR DOGS and TRUE ROMANCE). He’d originally considered Grier for PULP FICTION in the role ultimately played by Roseanne Arquette (which would have made her the mate of Eric Stoltz, an actor I can see Pam Grier breaking in half with two fingers), and changed the lead character in Leonard’s novel from a blonde Caucasian to an African-American in order to accommodate Grier (in the novel, her name is Jackie Burke. Tarantino renamed her Brown after her character from FOXY BROWN). Pam Grier was 48 when she starred in JACKIE BROWN (though her character claims to be 44) and she gives a strong world-weary performance, tough and believable especially when standing up to Samuel L. Jackson’s Ordell Robey. It’s been noted that JACKIE BROWN did not do for Grier’s career what PULP FICTION did for John Travolta but then, how many parts were there in Hollywood for black women pushing 50? Pam Grier did receive some choice roles after JACKIE BROWN including parts in John Carpenter’s GHOST OF MARS (2001), LARRY CROWNE (2011) as well as roles in the TV shows The L-Word and Smallville. JACKIE BROWN was the perfect mix of pulp fiction, Blaxploitation aesthetic, and film noir.

Focus Features Announces Edgar Wright’s LAST NIGHT IN SOHO In Theaters Friday, April 23, 2021

Focus Features will now release Edgar Wright’s LAST NIGHT IN SOHO in theaters on Friday, April 23, 2021 domestically in North America. 

See Edgar Wright’s tweet about the release date change. 

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Wright tweeted, “Haunted by someone else’s past, but we’ll see you in the future… It’s true, #LastNightInSoho is not quite finished yet due to Covid 19. But, I’m excited for you all to experience it, at a big screen near you, on April 23, 2021.”

It has moved off of September 25, 2020.  Universal Pictures International will release internationally.

About LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

The Edgar Wright directed, London-set psychological thriller stars Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma), Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie (Jo Jo Rabbit), Matt Smith (The Crown), Michael Ajao, Synnøve Karlsen, Diana Rigg, Terence Stamp, and Rita Tushingham.

Edgar Wright and Penny Dreadful scribe Krysty Wilson-Cairns co-wrote the screenplay, produced by Nira Park, Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, and Wright. Focus Features and Film4 co-financed the film.

ESPN 30 for 30: “LANCE” – Review

“If you believe in miracles, if you believe in fairytales, then you believe in Lance Armstrong.”- Phil Liggett

The sport of professional cycling has always been, for all intents and purposes, a “European” sport. Races with names like the Vuelta Espana, Giro d’Italia, Tour de Suisse, and the grand poobah of them all, Le Tour de France, have been around for 100 years.

In Europe. Watched by Europeans.

But that all changed in 1993 when a young American from Plano, Texas named Lance Armstrong won a stage in the Tour de France. Armstrong wasn’t the first American to have success in European cycling. Greg LeMond blazed the path before him, being the first American to win the prestigious race in 1986, going on to win it two more times in 1989 and 1990.  But LeMond didn’t spark the same excitement and influx of American fans to the sport the way that Armstrong did.

Lance Armstrong began cycling at a young age, and by the time he was 21, had turned professional. He had found success in many of the stages of the European races, and was on the radar of American fans. Diagnosed in 1996 at age 25 with advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his brain, lungs, lymph nodes and abdomen, it didn’t look good for his life, never mind his cycling career. But Armstrong fought, came back from the grim diagnosis, and miraculously resumed his cycling career. And this is what caught the imagination of American fans – that someone could make this kind of recovery and then go on to win the Tour de France, arguably one of the most difficult events in all of sports – just two short years later in 1999, his first of seven consecutive wins. Americans turned up in droves in Paris each of the years he raced, waving both American and Texas flags, in support of the new American hero.

And then there was Livestrong – the foundation started by Armstrong to help people navigate the healthcare system when it comes to cancer treatment and support. A foundation that raised nearly half a BILLION dollars and helped thousands and thousands of people worldwide. Lance Armstrong was invincible and it seemed there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do.

By now, everyone knows the monumental fall from grace and complete implosion of Armstrong’s career when, in 2012,  he was found guilty of cheating, or “doping,” during his cycling career, eventually being stripped of all seven Tour de France titles, and being banned from the sport for life.

In ESPN’s new 30 for 30 two-part documentary “Lance,” we finally get to see what has happened since 2012 and where Lance Armstrong is today. We also get to hear, in his own words, exactly what happened and the apologies it has taken so long for many of the people whose lives were ruined by the actions of Armstrong to finally get.

While there have been subsequent interviews since the implosion, most notably the Oprah interview, “Lance” shows a more humble, apologetic, honest and sincere Lance Armstrong. The film is peppered with interviews with everyone involved in Lance’s world during those years of doping and success, from former teammates and officials, to the whistleblowers and avowed enemies of Armstrong. And they all provide an amazing insight into what was the culture of professional cycling in those days, as well as the sometimes devastating outcome it held for some of them, in particular, fellow American cyclist, teammate, and head-whistleblower Floyd Landis (Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for use of a banned substance), who was completely blacklisted from professional cycling, when other guilty riders were welcomed back with open arms. In one of the more heartbreaking interviews of the film, Landis talks about his life still being in ruins to this day, and for him, forgiveness of Lance Armstrong will never come.

At first glimpse, it seems like there are two camps – those who hate Lance Armstrong and those who don’t and are willing to forgive, or at least try to understand. But as a lifelong cycling fan because of Lance Armstrong, I was somewhere in the middle. I never hated Armstrong for what he did, but like many, I was so disappointed and devastated because I believed him for all those years. I believed the denials, and worse, defended Armstrong in many an argument with friends and family. Like many, I chose to believe that if “everyone is doing it,” how is it cheating, as the playing field is even? That was the easy part to reconcile. What wasn’t easy to reconcile is the way that Armstrong treated people. The bullying, the lawsuits, the threats, the lies – and Armstrong makes no excuses, saying “I was a f**ing asshole.”

If nothing else, Lance Armstrong is an extremely complicated human being with many layers to dig through. Director Marina Zenovich does a pretty thorough job of digging through those layers by letting everyone involved speak their own truth. And in that truth, there are glimmers of forgiveness, reconciliation and finally a coming to peace. When asked if, looking back, he would have done anything different if he had it all to do over again, Armstrong takes perhaps the less popular route and says no, because all of that was necessary to get him from there to the person he is today.

LANCE airs in two parts, Sunday, May 24th and Sunday, May 31st on ESPN.

4 out of 4 stars

MILITARY WIVES – Review

The upcoming holiday (in just a couple of days) may prove difficult to observe. Memorial Day was established (formerly Decoration Day) to remember and honor those who died while serving in the armed forces. But with the current crisis, group gatherings are discouraged (in some areas they’re outright banned for more than ten people), and many might feel unsafe (social distancing and all that) at cemeteries, One option could be this new film that will be available for home viewing (since most cinemas are still shuttered), a comedy/drama that’s inspired by true events (the main characters are composites while others are fictional). It’s all about a group of women, spouses of soldiers, who thought that a great way to honor those away (and support those behind) was to raise their voices in song. This new film is about a choir that inspired several groups around the world, all composed of MILITARY WIVES.


Nerves are on edge at the Flitcroft military base in England as several soldiers prepare to be shipped out to Afghanistan. Newly arriving during this tense time is Kate (Kristin Scott Thomas), wife of the just transferred (and soon to be deployed) company commander Richard (Greg Wise). She pops into the on-base post office/ general store and encounters (awkwardly) its manager Lisa (Sharon Horgan). After the troops depart, Kate decides that she must do something to lift the morale of the wives waiting for word. This puts her together with Lisa, who is the new chair of the base’s Social Committee. During a big meeting of all the spouses, Kate proposes many social and educational outings (museum visits, film appreciation night), while Lisa wants to just continue on with a weekly dinner potluck (including a big post and pre happy hour). Not wanting to encourage any tippling, Kate suggests forming clubs. The first meeting of the Knitting Club quickly devolves into a wine fest. Hearing of this, Kate decides to play a more active role and teams with Lisa on the Music/choral Club. While Kate promotes all manner of music formality (reading sheet scores, conducting, and singing the classics), Lisa wants to just print out the words and “wing it’ on several pop music anthems and ballads. Somehow after much “head butting” the choir sounds pretty decent. Actually, so good that one of the visiting commanders gets them an invitation to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London for the annual Festival of Remembrance. Can this diverse group of women keep a cool head as the big concert day approaches? And will Kate and Lisa clash has the pressure increases?

The story’s focus and strength is the conflict between the choir’s duo directors, fortunately, they’re played by two exceptional veteran actresses. From the big screen (hard to believe that it was 34 years ago when she made her movie debut opposite Prince in UNDER THE CHERRY MOON), Thomas shines as the button-down, by the rules, no hair out of place, prim and proper Kate. But a lot of turmoil boils beneath her placid manner. We learn that she and Richard lost a son on the battlefield recently, as Kate insists that a final photo of him and his much-loved auto stay tacked to the fridge rather than in a frame on the wall (“Too formal”, she says, but perhaps it’s her rebelling against convention). Every morning she passes by that car as it fossilizes in the driveway. And what’s her secret way of coping with the grief (other than starting clubs and day trips)? Not booze or pills, but home-shopping TV. Yes, that gets a few laughs, but Thomas infuses a real life force into Kate making her more than a cliche straight man (well, woman). A formidable adversary, Lisa, is played by a comedy great mainly known for her small-screen work (she co-created and co-starred in Amazon Prime’s sublime sitcom “Catastrophe”), Ms. Horan, who masters the subtlest of “eye rolls”. We see that as Kate first invades her “sacred” retail space and runs “rough-shod” over her desire to just hang with her “lady-pals” and “get pissed”. She’s also hiding a secret, a crippling fear that the doorbell will ring, plunging her into widowhood and crumbling her “tough lass” armor. It’s her re-kindled love of music that lets her soar, even as her rebellious teen daughter Frankie (India Ria Amartelfio) pushes the boundaries, trying to grow up far too fast. To her chagrin Frankie has a bit of an ally in Kate, but it may be another way to annoy Mum. Quietly compelling is Amy James-Kelly as Sarah, another new addition to the base and a newlywed, who grasps for the choir rehearsal as a lifeline to take her mind away from the nightmares around her childhood sweetheart. In a lighter role, Lara Rossi gets lots of laughs as the camp hairdresser missing her wife along with any sense of tone and pitch, convinced that she’s placed in the very back due to her unique vocal stylings. And Wise is most compassionate and “rock solid” as a devoted hubby determined to pull his wife out of the quicksand of grief while controlling her aggravation at all the boxed useless merch filling every closet shelf (“Really, an inflatable mattress?”).

Director Peter Cattaneo utilizes a few elements of his biggest movie “crowd-pleaser”, THE FULL MONTY, mixes in some PITCH PERFECT toe-tapping tunes, and comes up with an inspiring female-empowering riff on the old “let’s put on a show” musical plots. The women stumble, fall, and get right back up, verbally “dusting each other” with praise and encouragement, especially for the painfully shy Mom who just “blows the roof off’ when she thinks nobody’s watching her (even warbling while blindfolded in rehearsal). Ah, but this isn’t a sweet and sunny, all’s swell cable TV fodder. That dreaded call does come for one member as they consider passing on their big showcase invite. This is a prelude to the film’s big emotional scene (in an action film it would be the “running toward the camera, from the approaching fireball) as Kate and Lisa pull no emotional punches in a verbal pummeling just before what should be the big night of triumph. Really, some lines will make you wince while thinking “Oh, she can never take that back!”. But it does lead to a most delightful, heart-wrenching climax tune that Cattaneo saves for the finale (no rehearsal bits) and plays out in “real-time”. Sure, he indulges in a few too many “getting it together” montages and dwells a bit too long on some boozy karaoke, but the bonding and building of friendships makes up for those indulgences. This leads up to a final pre-credit multi-screen collage that literally sends out MILITARY WIVES on a very sweet high note. Now there’s some impressive troop-support!

3 out of 4

MILITARY WIVES screens in select cinemas and is available as a VOD purchase on most cable and satellite systems. It’s also digitally streaming on most streaming apps and platforms along with HULU.

Check Out The Inverted World Of Christopher Nolan In New TENET IMAX Trailer Starring John David Washington And Robert Pattinson

John David Washington is the new Protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s original sci-fi action spectacle “Tenet.”

Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time. Not time travel. Inversion.

©2020 Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
PHOTO CREDIT: Melinda Sue Gordon

Warner Bros. Pictures is distributing “Tenet” worldwide and has slated the film for a July 17, 2020 release.

The international cast of “Tenet” also includes Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clémence Poésy, with Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh. Nolan wrote and directed the film, utilizing a mixture of IMAX® and 70mm film to bring the story to the screen.

“Tenet” is produced by Emma Thomas and Nolan. Thomas Hayslip served as executive producer.

Nolan’s behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema, production designer Nathan Crowley, editor Jennifer Lame, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson, and special effects supervisor Scott Fisher. The score is composed by Ludwig Göransson.

“Tenet” was filmed on location across seven countries. Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Syncopy Production, a Film by Christopher Nolan, “Tenet.”

www.Tenetfilm.com

©2020 Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
PHOTO CREDIT: Melinda Sue Gordon

THE TRIP TO GREECE – Review

So, this Friday is the beginning of the three day weekend that usually kicks off Summer vacation time. But with the lockdown somewhat still in effect (parts of the country are testing the “re-opening waters”), every day feels part of a “stay-cation” holiday as the luggage continues to gather new layers of dust in the back of the closet. Well, there’s always a virtual “vacay” via streaming services. Now, we’re not talking about a collection of the old travelogue film shorts we sometimes see between the features on the TCM cable channel. Nope, this is a brand-spanking’ new flick shot before the world changed (nearly to a standstill), but with a couple of most familiar and entertaining guides. We know that because over the last decade we’ve joined them (as a “fly on the wall”), first through the British Isles, then to Italy, again in Spain. Time to get our “cinema passports” in order as Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon explore the sights and sounds (and, oh, the tastes) of the land a bit further East as they take THE TRIP TO GREECE.

In the three years since their trek to Spain some things have changed with Steve and Rob, while their relationship, full of affectionate but often stinging barbs, has remained fairly constant. As they meet up in Troy for another “magazine assignment”, Rob reluctantly leaves the renewed romantic bliss with his wife Sally (Rebecca Johnson), though he hints that she may join him towards the end of the “gig”. Steve’s mind is also occupied with home matters of a darker tone. The health of his father is failing, so he checks every few hours in with his son Alexander (Michael Towns), who is watching over “grand”, in his absence. Much of that is pushed aside as the old “mates’ grab a rental car and careen over the twisty two-lane roads while riffing on favorite celebrity impressions and compare tidbits of Greek history. Rob is pleased with his own career, happy to be pegged as a “working class, regular bloke” comic performer, while Steve still is trying to establish himself as more than a “funny man”, but rather a serious multi-faceted “artiste”. In the last trip he was reveling in the critical acclaim of PHILOMENA, which he wrote and co-starred in, now it’s all STAN & OLLIE and his awards and accolades, though Rob believes it was all “comic mimicry”. At one stop they meet a recent co-star of Steve’s, Kareem Alkabbani from GREED (which I reviewed a couple of months ago) and offer him a ride. When they drop him off at his destination, Rob delights in his observation that Steve doesn’t recall working with him…at all. As they trace Odysseus’s trail from Troy to Ithica, they dine at 5-star gourmet restaurants, “bunk” in superb hotels and inns, and hike up hills and through brush (sweating and huffing the whole way) to explore ancient ruins and historical sites. The dynamic changes as they meet up with Steve’s assistant Emma (Claire Keelan) and magazine photog Yolanda (Marta Barrio) for some on-location pics. The fellows become more aggressively competitive and even engage in a swimming challenge in the crystal blue waters. But soon that dreaded call comes for Steve and he’s got to cut their adventure short. But how will tragedy change this rivalry/friendship?

Once again, the real “travel organizer” is director Michael Winterbottom, who keeps us bouncing from several different backdrops on a brisk pace, lettering us savor the new locales (for the series, though they may be the most ancient) and the talents of the two explorers. Along with the unique destination, this excursion has a more somber “sidebar” as fate drains some of the endearing pomposity from Coogan. Of course Brydon does his best to “pop that SC balloon” in the opening moments during the talk over the latest critical darling, twisting it into Laurel and (Tom) Hardy (as always, still muffled in his Bane muzzle). And due to his family situation, Coogan tries to “push back” against his own mortality, insisting that he could “cliff dive” with the local twenty-somethings, despite his exhaustion during the many trail hikes. As with the earlier adventures, the arrival of Emma and Yolanda jolts the “boys” into extreme “one-ups-manship” and a big race. Things might have gotten too downbeat if not for the shimmering cinematography by James Clarke of the lovely locales and locals (the camera adores several sultry servers) and the culinary artistry of the chefs (though the lamb and seafood dishes didn’t have the tastebuds exploding as with former treks). And kudos to editor Marc Richardson for the sprightly kitchen montages (more like a close-quartered dance) and bountiful backdrops (especially at sunset). Speaking of, the travelers have publicly stated that this is the last of the outings. I’m still hopeful they may reconsider. Can you imagine the two riffing over delectable Asian dishes or perhaps steaming bowls of borscht or goulash? More than the meals, it would mean some more time with a duo who have become a most endearing comedy team for the new century, two caricatures of their public personas, the prickly self-aggrandizing Coogan and the irrepressibly upbeat Brydon. It’s a gorgeous country, but the best part of this getaway is being the third wheel to Steve and Rob on THE TRIP TO GREECE. Opa lads, and keep those passports handy!

3.5 out 0f 4

THE TRIP TO GREECE is in select theatres and can be ordered as a VOD on most cable and satellite systems and streamed on most digital apps and platforms.

The New Horror Film CELEBRITY CRUSH to be Released May 26

Written & directed by Oliver Robins (Poltergeist), who also stars, CELEBRITY CRUSH follows an 80s horror movie star who is trapped inside a rural Florida house by a delusional fan vying for his love. Check out this trailer:

When the B horror movie CHAIN-FACE CLOWN was released in 1985, no one knew the film would one day become a classic. Well, at least by a select group of horror movie fans. The film’s biggest fan, 29 year-old EMILY LYNESSA always knew she was going to meet and fall in love with JONATHAN BLAKLEE, mid 40s, the star of CHAIN-FACE CLOWN. Her plan is simple: Meet Jonathan at an up-coming signing for the DVD and lure him back to her home where Jonathan will be imprisoned inside her home until he realizes Emily is the one for him.

CELEBRITY CRUSH stars Oliver Robins, Alissa Schneider, Melissa McNerney, Jonathan D. Lee, Wade Williams, and Eddie Craig

PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN Coming to Theaters in Late 2020

RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, have acquired US rights to the action/comedy PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN. RLJE Films is planning to release the film in theaters in late 2020 and Shudder will premiere the film on its platform in early 2021.  Check out the trailer:

Written and directed by Steven Kostanski (The Void), PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN stars Matthew Ninaber (Transference), Nita-Josee Hanna (Books of Blood), Owen Myre (“NOS4A2”) and Adam Brooks (The Editor).

“PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN is a perfect movie for all of us who grew up in a video store,” said Mark Ward, Chief Acquisitions Officer for RLJE Films. “It has so much heart, thrills and fun that we believe this could be a franchise. We love this movie!”

“PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN is the feel good splatterfest we need right now,” said Emily Gotto, Director of Global Acquisitions & Co-Productions for Shudder. “Brimming with blood and charm, PG proves Steven Kostanski’s imagination is unstoppable and we’re thrilled for Shudder members to meet the monsters, and especially, Mimi.”

In PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN, siblings Mimi and Luke unwittingly resurrect an ancient alien overlord. Using a magical amulet, they force the monster to obey their childish whims, and accidentally attract a rogues’ gallery of intergalactic assassins to small-town suburbia.

“The Shudder library is home to many of the horror films that inspired me to make PG,” observed Kostanski, “so it’s a surreal thrill to be working with both RLJE Films and Shudder to bring the evil might of PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN to their audiences”.

PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN was produced by Kostanski, Stuart F. Andrews, Shannon Hanmer (ABCs of Death 2), Jesse Kristensen and the Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowsky (The Interior, Climate of the Hunter). Ward and Jess DeLeo from RLJE Films and Gotto from Shudder negotiated the deal with Carole Baraton and Pauline Boucheny from Charades on behalf of the filmmakers.

Natalie Wood and Robert Redford in INSIDE DAISY CLOVER Available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive

Natalie Wood and Robert Redford in INSIDE DAISY CLOVER is now available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive. Ordering info can be found HERE

“You’re Gonna Hear from Me,” 15-year-old gamine Daisy Clover sings from the silver screen to an adoring public, although in the 1930s, “star treatment” can go all the way from being discovered to being discarded. Natalie Wood plays the title role with gusto in this blend of Hollywood stardust and melodrama from the producer/director team (Alan J. Pakula and Robert Mulligan) that had already sublimely showcased her in Love with the Proper Stranger. Also heard from are Wood’s costars Robert Redford (as the vain movie star who weds Daisy) and Ruth Gordon (as Daisy’s mother), both winning Golden Globes® for their work here (Gordon earned an Oscar nomination as well).

Natalie Wood plays the title role in this tale of a 1930s child star who goes from discovered to discarded in a stunningly short amount of time. The producer/director team of Alan J. Pakula and Robert Mulligan blend hard-edged cynicism and tear-jerking sentiment in this coming of age tale set during Hollywood’s Golden Age. 15-year-old gamine Daisy Clover doesn’t have much – an impoverished life on the pier with her off-kilter mom (Ruth Gordon, amazing as always), the attentions of boys and men that have aged her beyond her years, and singing. The recording of a novelty song for her birthday leads to a different kind of attention – that of a studio agent (Roddy McDowall) and powerful producer (Christopher Plummer). As Daisy is crafted into being America’s favorite singing street urchin, she gets seduced by matinee idol Wade Lewis (Robert Redford) …and her nightmare is just beginning. Set in the past, but clearly commenting on the burgeoning youth rebellion in the ’60s, Inside Daisy Clover arrives looking sparkling and new thanks to this exquisite 1080p presentation on Blu-ray Disc.

SCREENED OUT – New Documentary Explores Ramifications Of Excessive Screen Time – Available on Demand May 26th

Screened Out, a new feature-length documentary film premiering May 26th , explores how we can regain control of our screen time. Check out the trailer:

All over the world, as the technology grows and advances, so does our addiction to our devices. Join filmmaker Jon Hyatt and his family on a journey through the life changing effects of screen addiction, how the tech industry hooked global consumers, and its greater impact on our lives. From smartphones, portable tablets and social media, the tech industry has designed these fun immersive technologies, but are they good for us? Are we too dependent on our devices? What keeps us hooked and how is it impacting our children and the world as a whole?

SCREENED OUT features Jon Hyatt, Jim Steyer (CEO, Common Sense Media), Adam Alter (Associate Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business), Dr. Nicholas Kardaras Ph.D., LCSW-R, Dr. Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH (Director, Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children’s Research Institute for Child Health), Dr. Hilarie Cash, PhD (Founder and Chief Clinical Officer of the reSTART Center for Digital Technology Sustainability)