From Academy Award winning director Kathryn Bigelow comes A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE. Starring Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson, the movie is a minute-by-minute account of what the highest levels of government would do in the face of a nuclear attack on America.
A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE had it’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, premiered in competition and received an almost 13-minute ovation. In their review, Time Out says the “nuclear thriller will take your stress levels to DEFCON 1” while Indiewire writes its, “a movie that will ruin your day. You’re welcome.” The Hollywood Reporter says of the film’s music: “The tightly wound tension is maintained also by Volker Bertelmann’s propulsive score, which starts with ominous juddering groans and keeps shapeshifting throughout.”
A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE opens in select theaters Oct. 3 in the UK, globally Oct. 10, and on Netflix Oct. 24.
“I grew up in an era when hiding under your school desk was considered the go-to protocol for surviving an atomic bomb. It seems absurd now — and it was — but at the time, the threat felt so immediate that such measures were taken seriously.
Today, the danger has only escalated. Multiple nations possess enough nuclear weapons to end civilization within minutes. And yet, there’s a kind of collective numbness — a quiet normalization of the unthinkable.
How can we call this “defense” when the inevitable outcome is total destruction?
I wanted to make a film that confronts this paradox — to explore the madness of a world that lives under the constant shadow of annihilation, yet rarely speaks of it.”
A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE also stars Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Jonah Hauer-King, Moses Ingram, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke, Malachi Beasley, Brian Tee, Brittany O’Grady, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Willa Fitzgerald, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Kyle Allen, and Kaitlyn Dever.
Inspired by larger-than-life actual events, this riveting crime thriller follows the rise and fall of Silk Road, the infamous darknet site that sent a seismic shock through the World Wide Web.
Young, idealistic, and driven to succeed, Ross Ulbricht (Nick Robinson) creates the internet’s first unregulated marketplace: Silk Road. But when it becomes a multimillion-dollar pipeline for illicit drugs, Ross is set on a collision course with Rick Bowden (Jason Clarke), a disreputable and dangerously unpredictable DEA agent, who will use any means necessary to take him down.
Watch the new trailer now.
SILK ROAD is written for the screen and directed by Tiller Russell and based on The Article “Dead End on Silk Road: Internet Crime Kingpin Ross Ulbricht’s Big Fall” by David Kushner, published in Rolling Stone.
The film was scheduled to debut in 2020 at the Tribeca Film Festival but was later postponed due to the pandemic and eventually acquired by Lionsgate.
SILK ROAD is on Digital, On Demand, & In Select Theaters on February 19, 2021 and Blu-ray and DVD February 23, 2021.
Jason Clarke as Rick Bowden and Darrell Britt-Gibson as Rayford in Silk Road. Photo Credit: Catherine KanavyJason Clarke as Rick Bowden in Silk Road. Photo Credit: Catherine Kanavy
In the explosive Midwestern Gothic tale THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME, spanning two decades, sinister characters converge around young Arvin Russell as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and everything he loves. Based on Donald Ray Pollock’s award-winning novel.
In Knockemstiff, Ohio and its neighboring backwoods, sinister characters — an unholy preacher (Robert Pattinson), twisted couple (Jason Clarke and Riley Keough), and crooked sheriff (Sebastian Stan) — converge around young Arvin Russell (Tom Holland) as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and his family. Spanning the time between World War II and the Vietnam war, director Antonio Campos’ THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME renders a seductive and horrific landscape that pits the just against the corrupted. Co-starring Bill Skarsgård, Mia Wasikowska, Harry Melling, Haley Bennett, and Pokey Lafarge, this suspenseful, finely-woven tale is adapted from Donald Ray Pollock’s award-winning novel.
THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME stars Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Haley Bennett, Harry Melling, Eliza Scanlen with Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson
Death affects people differently. Sometimes in unexpected ways. For some, coping with the inevitable is hard to even think about. For some, they are plagued by images of their loved ones now gone. For some, the outcome can’t be accepted and so denial sets in.
What death is and what death means and all the other complicated questions that arise from this thought process can lead to a gateway of ideas that are both fascinating and terrifying. While Stephen King’s classic novel deals with the many stages of death and grief, PET SEMATARY (2019) is more interested in traveling down a path of cheap thrills and visual cues already presented in Mary Lambert’s 1989 film of the same name. Bringing to mind horror films from the early aughts, Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer’s remake is made up of tiny jump scares every five minutes – a filmmaking rule that seems as outdated as it is unnecessary to filmgoers in 2019. A solid script with engaging characters doesn’t need to constantly remind audiences that they are watching a horror film, especially scares that seem so telegraphed and add nothing to the heart of King’s story.
Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) relocates with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine. On the grounds that their farmhouse resides is a mysterious burial ground deep in the woods. When their cat Church gets hit by a truck on the road in front of their home, Louis turns to his neighbor, Jud (John Lithgow). Their decision to bury the cat in the Pet Cemetery (or Sematary as it is spelled) triggers a chain of events with horrific consequences.
Sound plays an essential part in Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer’s remake. From nature sounds outside to disturbing flashbacks involving Rachel’s sister and a dumbwaiter to creaking floorboards overhead in the farmhouse, it all combines into an effective mood-building character. The sound design almost has elements of the classic 1963 version of THE HAUNTING. Additional more unexpected sounds add uneasiness, like in a scene where Rachel is clutching her eyes shut and you can actually hear the sounds of her eyes tightening for dear life. Christopher Young, who has made a name for himself with classic horror film scores for HELLRAISER and THE DARK HALF gives the film a traditional but eerie score that hits the right notes and gives the film an elevated presence.
The cast certainly makes their presence known with a strong ensemble, especially young Jeté Laurence as their daughter Ellie. Her transformation in the second half is more than just a series of creepy looks, as she does so much with her voice to invoke chills. While she quickly becomes the star of the film, the rest of the cast drift further and further into the background. So much so that the family’s other child, Gage, truly becomes an unnecessary character in the film. Victor – a classic character from the novel who is a ghost that haunts the doctor – also becomes a missed opportunity. In Mary Lambert’s film and on King’s pages, the character of Victor lends the film a subtle bit of dark humor. How the character is approached in this shows how the filmmakers were much more interested in an actor serving as your standard creepy plot device as opposed to a unique and more challenging character.
The film lives up to the true definition of a remake. This isn’t so much a reimagining or reinterpretation of the story… well…. Until the ending. All the scenes are there and even have the same look and feel as the original film. The familiar proceedings begin to take a more genuine turn in the film’s finale, which deviates quite a bit from the source material as well as the original film (Mary Lambert’s film also made a change to King’s original ending). And while I admire that the film finally does its own thing, the ending simply doesn’t make sense in the context of the characters. For die-hard fans of the novel, controversial decisions are made that seem based on creating imagery straight from an EC comics story instead of ending on an inspired, thematic note.
We live in an era of fresh and exciting horror remakes like the recent versions of SUSPIRIA and IT. Films that examine the source material and find new ways to present the ideas. In comparison, PET SEMATARY feels expected. Despite some scenes playing out slightly different than they do in the original film or book, much of the film has the same familiar beats. Even in the scenes when it doesn’t present it exactly how it’s supposed to happen, it knowingly winks at the audience in a groan-worthy “gotcha” manner. The real shocker would have been if Jeff Buhler’s screenplay would’ve delved deeper into some of the themes of sheltering kids from death and discussions of mortality & grief found in King’s book. The real tragedy of this new version of PET SEMATARY is that it’s more interested in cheap scares than connecting the audience to a story about a family dealing with trauma and grief.
“Everything you know about this story still won’t prepare you”–Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting
Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.
This latest, and final, trailer looks terrifying!:
PET SEMETARY stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, Jeté Laurence, Hugo & Lucas Lavoie and John Lithgow and is directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. It is based on the novel by Stephen King
THE AFTERMATH is set in postwar Germany in 1945. Rachael Morgan (Keira Knightley) arrives in the ruins of Hamburg in the bitter winter, to be reunited with her husband Lewis (Jason Clarke), a British colonel charged with rebuilding the shattered city. But as they set off for their new home, Rachael is stunned to discover that Lewis has made an unexpected decision: They will be sharing the grand house with its previous owners, a German widower (Alexander Skarsgård) and his troubled daughter. In this charged atmosphere, enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal.
Directed by James Kent with a screenplay by Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse (Race) and Rhidian Brook, based upon Brook’s novel, the filmmaking team includes director of photography Franz Lustig, production designer Sonja Klaus, editor Beverly Mills, costume designer Bojana Nikitovič, music by Martin Phipps and casting by Nina Gold.
THE AFTERMATH opens in St. Louis this Friday, March 29.
WAMG is giving away to a five lucky readers run-of-engagement tickets to see THE AFTERMATH. (tickets are good at any theater starting opening day).
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Coming off of the jovial and colorful burst of life that is LA LA LAND, it’s surprising that Damien Chazelle takes audiences on quite a grim journey. FIRST MAN feels less like a patriotic, proud moment in American history and more like an exploration of paralyzing and dreadful fear. It’s the fear of what we can’t control in life. The audience may fear for the man in the pilot seat, but it’s the man who fears for his lack of control outside of the pilot seat.
Based on the book by James R. Hansen, FIRST MAN explores the sacrifices that Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) put himself, his wife Janet (Claire Foy), and kids through as he helps NASA achieve their ultimate goal: Be the first country to land a man on the moon. In the process, the engineer-turned-astronaut cheats death several times (as seen in the nail-biting opening scene while flying an X-15), butts heads with the outspoken Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll), and witnesses friends and family taken from his life.
It becomes immediately apparent that conveying the physical nature of NASA’s trials and tribulations leading to the Apollo 11 mission is the film’s main mission. Chazelle seems to take pleasure in showing the physical demands of the job and presents it as a rather thankless one at that. Immersive sound design and stark visual storytelling truly make it feel like you are in the front seat going full-speed into a galactic horror film. It’s a long, loud, and very bleak journey into the unknown.
Claire Foy (The Crown) is the wife and mother at home who has to force a calm and collected composure as her husband hurdles himself forward into the brink of death. Without the help of much dialogue, Foy is left to convey her inner turmoil through her emotive eyes. Almost ironically, considering the wide-open expanse of space, Chazelle and cinematographer Linus Sandgren shoot mostly in close-up, making the faces seem larger than life – often quite blurry, as well, when the men are strapped in. It’s an effective storytelling device even though it becomes a bit tiresome.
Ryan Gosling and the script by Josh Singer portray Neil Armstrong as someone who can solve last-minute calculations within seconds, and yet, struggles with communicating with his wife and children. Working with a bare-bones script, Gosling attempts to present a man who is simply putting his head down and moving full-steam ahead. His typical puppy-dog eyes become unblinking headlights, illuminating the way towards NASA’s goal. However, Gosling feels less like a blue-collar worker getting the job done at all costs and more like an empty straw man – perhaps a symbol for how Chazelle truly feels about the mission.
FIRST MAN is eager to point out that the moon landing is only a happy story in our minds because we like to remember it as a grand achievement in American History. In one scene, Gil Scott-Heron’s song of racial inequality, ‘Whitey on the Moon,” is even juxtaposed with imagery of NASA prepping for the big liftoff. The “Space Race” is presented in a tragic way as opposed to a triumph. Nothing says this more than the final shots of the film. At what cost do we push ourselves for our own professional endeavors? While Neil Armstrong might have represented “One giant leap for mankind,” Chazelle questions if the journey was worth the man losing his humanity.
Overall score: 3.5 out of 5
FIRST MAN opens in theaters everywhere Friday, Oct. 12th, 2018
Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for PET SEMATARY. The film opens in theaters on April 5, 2019.
The 1989 classic starred Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne and Denise Crosby.
Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home.
When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.
The truth is revealed in the new trailer for CHAPPAQUIDDICK starring Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, Ed Helms, and Jim Gaffigan with Bruce Dern. The untold true story, recalling the mysterious events of the scandalous 1969 car accident involving U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (Clarke) and Mary Jo Kopechne (Mara), a campaign worker he callously left to die at the scene, hits theaters April 6th!
In the riveting suspense drama, CHAPPAQUIDDICK, the scandal and mysterious events surrounding the tragic drowning of a young woman, as Ted Kennedy drove his car off the infamous bridge, are revealed in the new movie starring Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy and Kate Mara as Mary Jo Kopechne. Not only did this event take the life of an aspiring political strategist and Kennedy insider, but it ultimately changed the course of presidential history forever. Through true accounts, documented in the inquest from the investigation in 1969, director John Curran and writers Andrew Logan and Taylor Allen, intimately expose the broad reach of political power, the influence of America’s most celebrated family; and the vulnerability of Ted Kennedy, the youngest son, in the shadow of his family legacy.
Cast: Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, Ed Helms, Jim Gaffigan, Clancy Brown, and Taylor Nichols with Olivia Thirlby and Bruce Dern
Directed by: John Curran (Tracks, The Painted Veil)
Written by: Screenplay by Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan
The dead are restless in the brand new trailer from The Spierig Brothers’ WINCHESTER.
Inspired by the true story of Sarah Winchester (Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren), heiress to the Winchester fortune, who believes her family to be cursed and built the most haunted house in history to lay the vengeful spirits. The gothic thriller also stars Jason Clarke & Sarah Snook and opens in theaters everywhere Friday, February 2nd.
On an isolated stretch of land 50 miles outside of San Francisco sits the most haunted house in the world. Built by Sarah Winchester, (Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren) heiress to the Winchester fortune, it is a house that knows no end. Constructed in an incessant twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week mania for decades, it stands seven stories tall and contains hundreds of rooms.
To the outsider it looks like a monstrous monument to a disturbed woman’s madness. But Sarah is not building for herself, for her niece (Sarah Snook) or for the troubled Doctor Eric Price (Jason Clarke) whom she has summoned to the house. She is building a prison, an asylum for hundreds of vengeful ghosts, and the most terrifying among them have a score to settle with the Winchesters…
Directed by The Spierig Brothers (Jigsaw, Predestination) and written by Tom Vaughan and The Spierig Brothers (Jigsaw, Predestination). The film stars
Helen Mirren (Eye In The Sky, The Queen), Jason Clarke (Mudbound, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes), Sarah Snook (Steve Jobs, Jessabelle), Angus Sampson (Insidious, Mad Max: Fury Road), Finn Scicluna-O’Prey (True Story with Hamish & Andy, The Secret River).
