This week’s episode of our podcast WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is up! Hear WAMG’s Jim Batts, Michael Haffner, and Tom Stockman talk movies. Michelle McCue will call in to discuss the weekend box office and we’ll review FINDING DORY, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE, THERAPY FOR A VAMPIRE, and GENIUS. Also, we’ll preview THE SHALLOWS and FREE STATE OF JONES. We’ll then discuss some local film events here in St. Louis, discuss the year in horror so far, and pay respects to the late Anton Yelchin.
TROLL 2 plays this weekend (June 24th and 25th) at The Tivoli at midnight as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli midnight series.
Finally, a movie so bad, it has its own separate documentary about just how bad it is! TROLL 2 is one of the most unbelievable sequels ever made, and one supposedly shot entirely without the knowledge or consent of the creators of the first TROLL film!
At first glance TROLL 2 is simply a sub-Z-grade continuity abomination, but really it’s a nonstop explosion of genius disguised as ineptitude. Grade-schooler Joshua is visited by the protective ghost of his Grandpa Seth, who warns him that his family’s vacation destination – the town of Nilbog (!) may be worth avoiding. But there’s no changing dad’s mind, and soon the whole family is knee-deep in black magic and nefarious villagers, including the remarkably abnormal `Sheriff Gene Freak’. Joshua and his dead grandpa are the only ones aware of their mortal danger, which Joshua at one point attempts to curb by urinating all over the dinner table. Worth noting is the fact that `trolls’ aren’t mentioned once in the film, while the threat of goblins remains all too real. Directed by `Drago Floyd’, who was actually Claudio Fragasso, a low-rent auteur from Italy who most notably directed Alice Cooper in MONSTER DOG.
One really strange part of TROLL 2 that’ll stick in my head for eternity is where of the teenagers is with the green-plant-mutating-paint woman in the trailer holding a cob of corn with her mouth seducing the guy, and the guy says “I’d like popcorn” or something like that and then suddenly a load of popcorn comes in at them because of the woman’s spell.
TROLL 2 is Mind-numbing, awful stuff. Don’t miss it! And remember – bologna sandwiches are always the prime weapon against goblins!
TROLL 2 screens this weekend (June 24th and 25th) at The Tivoli at midnight as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli midnight series.
The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!
“Hey, you wanna hear my philosophy of life? Do it to him before he does it to you!”
ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) screen this Friday through Sunday (June 24th-26th) at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 E. Lockwood, Webster Groves, MO 63119). The film begins each evening at 8:00.
More than 60 years after its original release, ON THE WATERFRONT,Academy Award®-winning director Elia Kazan’s classic tale of crime and corruption among unionized dock workers in New York and New Jersey, returns to the big screen when it plays at Webster University’s this weekend. Movie buffs can experience the second collaboration of Marlon Brando and Kazan, following A Streetcar Named Desire, along with the acclaimed performances of Eva Marie Saint and Karl Malden, and a still-searing, Academy Award®-winning screenplay by Budd Schulberg.
Filmed in just 36 days on-site in Hoboken, New Jersey, ON THE WATERFRONT tells the story of struggling dockworkers forced to play dumb to the crime and murder taking place under their mob-tied union boss, Johnny Friendly. Brando, who plays an ex-boxer turned mobster, faces the decision to testify against Friendly after witnessing a murder. A true contender during the 55th Academy Awards®, ON THE WATERFRONT won eight of its 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Actor, Director, Writing, Story, B&W Cinematography, and Screenplay.’
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty
Free for Webster students with proper I.D.
Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.
The Webster University Film Series site can be found HERE
Opening on June 24th is director Roland Emmerich’s INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE.
We always knew they were coming back. After INDEPENDENCE DAY redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global spectacle on an unimaginable scale. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.
The film stars Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Vivica A. Fox, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, and Sela Ward.
Looking for some otherworldly films to check out before you head out to the cinemas on Friday? Have a look at WAMG’s list for Alien Invasion Movies To See Before INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE!
EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS
Aliens are everywhere, and they’re attacking planet Earth in one of Ray Harryhausen’s most amazing stop-motion sci-fi classics. Dr. Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) works for Operation Skyhook, a government task force sending rockets into space to probe for future space flights. But when the rockets begin mysteriously disappearing, Dr. Marvin investigates along with his wife Carol (Joan Taylor), only to find the rockets are being intercepted by an army of space aliens who give humanity an ultimatum: Loyalty or death! As the aliens begin attacking cities and landmarks across the Earth – including an unforgettable assault on Washington, D.C – its up to Dr.Marvin and his wife to figure out how to stop these diabolical creatures before its too late.
SIGNS
From writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, comes the story of the Hess family in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who wake up one morning to find a 500-foot crop circle in their backyard. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and his family are told extraterrestrials are responsible for the sign in their field. They watch, with growing dread, the news of crop circles being found all over the world. SIGNS is the emotional story of one family on one farm as they encounter the terrifying last moments of life as the world is being invaded.
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
Amateur astronomer John Putnam (Richard Carlson) and his fiancée Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush) are stargazing in the desert when a spaceship bursts from the sky and crashes to the ground. Just before a landslide buries the ship, a mysterious creature emerges and disappears into the darkness. Of course, when he tells his story to the sheriff (Charles Drake), John is branded a crackpot; but before long, strange things begin to happen, and the tide of disbelief turns…Based on a story by acclaimed writer Ray Bradbury, “It Came From Outer Space” is a science fiction classic that is as thought-provoking and tantalizing today as it was when it first “landed” on the sliver screen.
SKYLINE
Strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, drawing people outside like moths to a flame, where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth.
WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)
Gene Barry (TV’s Bat Masterson) and Ann Robinson (TV’s Fury) are among the humans intrigued when a meteor-like object crashes to Earth … but its occupants are definitely not friendly. The assault on Earth is underway, and the Martian machines — hovering “swan”-shaped vehicles of destruction — are both beautiful and terrifying as they cut a relentless path of annihilation.
WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005)
Equally, if not more, frightening is director Steven Spielberg’s new take on the sci-fi classic. A contemporary retelling of H.G.Wells’ classic, the sci-fi thriller reveals the extraordinary battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of one American family. Fleeing from an extraterrestrial army of killer Tripods that annihilate everything in their path, Ray Ferrier (Cruise) races to keep his family safe.
BATTLE LOS ANGELES
Witness the end of civilization unfold as hostile alien invaders attack the planet. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. Now it’s up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered in Jonathan Liebesman’s epic sci-fi action film.
EDGE OF TOMORROW
An alien race, undefeatable by any existing military unit, has launched a relentless attack on Earth, and Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) finds himself dropped into a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage is thrown into a time loop, forced to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again and again. Training alongside warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), his skills slowly evolve, and each battle moves them one step closer to defeating the enemy in this fun action thriller.
Discover Las Vegas reborn from its’ ruins!
On July 4th, 1996, aliens attacked our planet, destroying our cities. But what happened in Vegas will never be forgotten. The Las Vegas Ruins Tourism Board welcomes you to come to Vegas and experience a vacation like no other.
Check out the Visit the Ruins of Las Vegas video
Sony Classical proudly announces the release of Independence Day: Resurgence Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, featuring music by Thomas Wander and Harald Kloser. The soundtrack will be available digitally on June 17 and on CD July 1.
INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE in theaters everywhere June 24, 2016.
Spike your hair, throw on your combat boots, and get ready to dive into the mosh pit when the brilliantly crafted thriller Green Room hits Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD (plus Digital) July 12 from Lionsgate. Theatrically released by A24, and written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier (who achieved critical success with Blue Ruin), Green Room is a film that critics are calling “the best screw-tightening siege movie of the year” (Rolling Stone). Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh, the award-winning filmstars Golden Globe® nominee Patrick Stewart (X-Men: Days of Future Past)in a role ”that’s as cool as it is evil” (Bloody Disgusting) and will haunt audiences well past the closing credits. The “delightfully nasty horror chiller” (Chicago Sun-Times) also stars Anton Yelchin (Star Trek Beyond), Imogen Poots (Fright Night), Alia Shawkat (The Final Girls), Joe Cole (Secret in Their Eyes), and Callum Turner (Queen & Country).
After witnessing a shocking crime, a young rock band is unexpectedly thrust into a life-or-death battle to escape the clutches of a diabolical club owner (Stewart) and his ruthless henchmen in this white-knuckle thriller.
Enter for a chance to winthe GREEN ROOM Blu-ray
1. You must have a U.S. mailing address.
2. No purchase necessary.
We Are Movie Geeks has one to give away. All you have to do is to leave a comment below and state your favorite movie with the word “Green” in the title (mine is SOYLENT GREEN !)
The home entertainment release of Green Room contains audio commentary with Director Jeremy Saulnier and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Thirteen years after Nemo found his dad, Dory is getting her day in the spotlight with the new DISNEY•PIXAR feature FINDING DORY. After all of this time, she just keeps swimming into our hearts!
We pick up back in the reef, where Dory is happily living with Nemo and his father, Marlin. Still, Dory yearns for something more. She starts to piece together a past, and knows something is missing. We soon find out that her past isn’t that different from Nemo’s. Due to her short term memory loss, she wandered away from her parents and couldn’t find her way home. Soon, she couldn’t remember what she was looking for. When she finally starts putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Marlin, Nemo and Dory set out on a mission to find her parents. Together, they brave the ocean, and meet some new friends along the way in their quest to find the missing pieces in Dory’s life.
I honestly didn’t think they could top 2003’s FINDING NEMO, and they certainly did. Even though the stories have a simile thread, FINDING DORY still feels new. Plus, we find out where Dory learns to speak whale! I know you’re just dying to find out!
The humor is outstanding, and the animation is absolutely stunning. They managed to use their updated technology to give an incredible look to the film, while still making it feel like the original. I think this is in part of Andrew Stanton, who co-wrote and directed the first film. He also co-wrote and directed FINDING DORY, so the original feel and nostalgia are not lost along the way. DISNEY•PIXAR continues to impress me on a regular basis. My only regret is that I would have loved our screening to be in 3-D, but that just means I need to go see it again.
As far as voice talent goes, Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton were all incredible. DeGeneres and Brooks return to voice their characters from FINDING NEMO, while the rest are newcomers, including Hayden Rolence who takes on the role of young Nemo. They did manage to throw in Alexander Gould, the original voice of Nemo, as Passenger Carl, which is fun. Seeing as how the film takes place only a few months after their return to the reef, there was no way for a grown Gould to voice young Nemo. It was nice to see that he was included in the sequel.
FINDING DORY is funny, smart, and heartwarming. Go see it as soon as you can! It’s in theaters NOW!
Ready to see a new installment of THE PURGE on July 1st?
Expanding the universe introduced in the hit franchise that electrified the culture and earned $200 million at the worldwide box office, Universal Pictures’ THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR reveals the next terrifying chapter that occurs over 12 hours of annual lawlessness sanctioned by the New Founders of America to keep this country great.
It’s been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night. Now serving as head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), his mission is to protect her in a run for president and survive the annual ritual that targets the poor and innocent. But when a betrayal forces them onto the streets of D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive until dawn…or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state.
Once again returning to collaborate with franchise creator James DeMonaco on The Purge: Election Year are the series’ producers: Blumhouse Productions’ Jason Blum (Insidious and Ouija series, The Visit), Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ouija series, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and writer/director DeMonaco’s longtime production partner, Sébastien K. Lemercier (Assault on Precinct 13, Four Lovers).
WAMG invites you to enter for a chance to win a pass (Good for 2) to the advance screening of THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR on Tuesday, June 28th at 7:00 PM in the St. Louis area.
We will contact the winners by email.
Answer the following:
How many U.S. Founding Fathers were there?
5
7
9
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
3. No purchase necessary.
The film has been rated R for disturbing bloody violence and strong language.
Academy Award winner Judi Dench will star as Queen Victoria and Academy Award nominee Stephen Frears (The Queen) will direct Working Title Films’ VICTORIA AND ABDUL, to which Focus Features will hold worldwide rights as part of the company’s renewed global initiative. The movie is slated to go into production this year for a 2017 release. Focus will release the movie domestically and Universal Pictures International will distribute the film around the world. VICTORIA AND ABDUL is being co-financed by Focus in association with BBC Films.
The screenplay of VICTORIA AND ABDUL is by Lee Hall, an Academy Award nominee and Tony Award winner for Working Title’s BILLY ELLIOT; and is based on Shrabani Basu’s book Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant.
VICTORIA AND ABDUL was developed by Beeban Kidron and Lee Hall at Cross Street Films with BBC Films, and is being produced by Ms. Kidron, Academy Award nominee Tracey Seaward (The Queen), and Working Title’s co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Mr. Bevan and Mr. Fellner have produced several Working Title movies for Focus release, including the Best Picture Oscar nominees Atonement and The Theory of Everything.
The film tells the extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria’s remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim, a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.
Ms. Dench will be playing Queen Victoria for a second time in VICTORIA AND ABDUL, having been Oscar-nominated for her previous portrayal in MRS. BROWN. She won her Academy Award for portraying Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love; and later received Best Actress Oscar nominations for her performances in Mr. Frears’ Philomena, also a Best Picture Oscar nominee, and Mrs. Henderson Presents.
VICTORIA AND ABDUL reunites Working Title with Ms. Kidron, Mr. Frears, and Mr. Hall. Working Title has made five previous projects with Mr. Frears; and has made multiple films with Ms. Kidron and Mr. Hall, including Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and the global hit Billy Elliot, respectively.
Christine Langan, head of BBC Films and executive producer of Victoria and Abdul, said, “BBC Films is delighted to have supported Lee Hall’s terrific script and extremely excited to be back in business with the winning combination that is Stephen Frears and Judi Dench.”
Focus chairman Peter Kujawski commented, “It is a true privilege to collaborate with the great Stephen Frears and the legendary Judi Dench to tell this story of discovery, and it is always an event when Tim and Eric make a film that promises to move and delight audiences around the world.”
Sometimes words are just words. Other times a strong voice can bring written words to life. That is the goal of a writer after all. In GENIUS, Max Perkins (played by Colin Firth) is a man who helps bring these words to life, albeit, sometimes in a more condensed or cohesive form. He’s an editor for Charles Scribner’s Sons in New York in 1929. Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law) is a boisterous struggling writer when Perkins barges into Perkins’ office with the hope to be the next classic writer published by the company, following in the footsteps of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, respectively. The ups and downs of this creative partnership push both of these men to their limits, as well as that of their wives (Nicole Kidman and Laura Linney).
When reading great works of literature, it’s easy to forget the blood, sweat, and tears that go into such an undertaking. Classics don’t just appear; they are created by real people with real talent. However, the people in GENIUS seem to have been washed away in the rainy streets of New York. GENIUS spends so much time highlighting the text of the main character and reading it aloud for the audience to savor, that after so long the words lose their impact. It can’t be enough that the stories are well written. What should be the focus in this film are the characters behind the words.
Jude Law acts as if he’s on the stage. Every line of dialogue and each facial expression is exaggerated beyond the point of overacting. At least Colon Firth plays it straighter and naturalistic, in stark contrast to Law’s vaudevillian exercise is theatrics. “I know I sound like a circus freak… Too loud, too grandiose,” Law’s Wolfe admits with a faint sense of heart. However, this explanation still doesn’t excuse why Law feels like a colorful cartoon character in a film so muted that it’s practically black and white.
There are moments where you see John Logan’s script attempt to capture the tortured relationship between writer and editor. A scene early on between Perkins and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Guy Pearce) reveals the tortured soul of an artist and the struggles of a mentor who has to be the strong one to pick the artist up when he is down. It’s a simple scene that feels nuanced and alive – two elements that are missing in the bromance between Perkins and Wolfe.
Ben Davis’ moody washed-out cinematography has elements of greatness. His use of lighting recalls the work of Roger Deakins – which is not a sentence I write lightly. But that’s about all that works in Michael Grandage’s directorial debut. In an exercise of style over substance, GENIUS seems more fascinated with the look of Depression-era New York – the clothes and music of the period, the sight of fingers punching away on a typewriter, and the smoky offices filled with manuscripts piled up on every surface. It’s a period piece filled with characters instead of people.
THE LAST MAN ON EARTH starring St. Louis’ own Vincent Price screens Thursday July 7th at 7:00pm at Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue Maplewood, MO 63143). There will be Vincent Price Trivia with prizes!
Even though Richard Matheson’s novel I AM LEGEND has been filmed three times (officially), only one of the film versions worked with a script by Matheson himself (though billed as -‘Logan Swanson’). Originally a Hammer Film property (how great would that have been?), Matheson’s script was eventually sold to Lippert Productions and made cheaply in Italy with an Italian cast and crew, as THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964). For its bankable American star, Vincent Price was cast as the lead. Price was at the peak of his popularity from a series of brilliant Edgar Allan Poe adaptations directed by Roger Corman (the producers wisely emphasized the horrific elements of Matheson’s story with Price’s image in the advertising). But in LAST MAN Price delivers one of his best performances as the only ‘human’Â left after a biological plague has decimated the population. Whether he’s dealing with feelings of loneliness and grief, or simply displaying human pettiness, Price imbues the film with a sense of quiet despair. Price appears in nearly every frame of the film, and dominates the story with his great persona. Today, despite its low budget and black & white cinematography, with its remarkable opening scenes of death and desolation, and of Price nightly withstanding the siege of ‘vampires’, the film is viewed as a highly influential (George Romero cites it as an inspiration) and memorable version of the famous tale.
$6 for the screening. A yummy variety of food from Schlafly’s kitchen is available as are plenty of pints of their famous home-brewed suds.
“Culture Shock” is the name of a film series here in St. Louis that is the cornerstone project of a social enterprise that is an ongoing source of support for Helping Kids Together(http://www.helpingkidstogether.com/) a St. Louis based social enterprise dedicated to building cultural diversity and social awareness among young people through the arts and active living.
The films featured for “Culture Shock” demonstrate an artistic representation of culture shock materialized through mixed genre and budgets spanning music, film and theater. Through ‘A Film Series’ working relationship with Schlafly Bottleworks, they seek to provide film lovers with an offbeat mix of dinner and a movie opportunities.
