Woody Allen’s latest is a disappointment, but even a lower-drawer Woody like WONDER WHEEL, which is anchored by a quartet of outstanding lead performances, is worth a look. Set around 1950, WONDER WHEEL tells the story of 26-year old Carolina (Juno Temple), on the run from her mobster husband and his crew after ratting them out. She takes refuge at the home of her estranged father Humpty (Jim Belushi) and his second wife Genny (Kate Winslet). They live with Genny’s young son Richie (Jack Gore), a budding arsonist, in a cramped apartment on the grounds of the Coney Island Amusement Park that quakes beneath the titular Ferris Wheel (shades of Alvy’s childhood in ANNIE HALL). Carolina’s unexpected appearance could not have come at a worse time. Genny and Humpty were at one time a pair of alcoholics that found each other when they were at a low point, but now he’s on the wagon and she’s begun a torrid affair with handsome lifeguard and aspiring playwright Mickey (Justin Timberlake). Mickey’s attracted to drama and Ginny, who was once an actress, sure gives it to him. The conflict begins when Carolina innocently falls for Mickey and, unbeknownst to her, complicates Ginny’s rather desperate love affair as she can’t handle being tossed aside for this younger woman. Meanwhile, the mob is closing in on Carolina.
While there’s much to like in WONDER WHEEL, Woody’s script simply isn’t up to his usual standards. Where last year’s CAFÉ SOCIETY had so many memorable lines (“live each day like it’s your last and one day you’ll be right”), the dialog here lacks depth or dimension or the zingers we associate with his scripts. When Carolina says: “It’s your 40th birthday, that’s a milestone” and Genny responds “It’s a tombstone!” the line falls flat. Besides young Richie and a pair of mobsters played by Sopranos alumns Tony Sirico and Stephen Schirripa, the focus stays on the four main characters, which gives the film a stage-bound quality. Fortunately, all four actors are stellar. Winslet’s Ginny is a dazzling trainwreck, and it’s hard to look away. Ginny’s in terrible shape, watching time steal away her acting dreams, trapped in a bad marriage and with a kid who’s become a serious danger. Mickey’s attention is the best thing to come her way in a long while and she doesn’t think twice about cheating on her husband. Woody has always gotten the best from his leading ladies and Winslet here is no exception. I was most impressed with Jim Belushi’s turn as the loutish Humpty, a decent, working class chump with a Ralph Kramden stammer and perhaps a capacity for violence. Timberlake plays things a bit too naive but is charming enough as the well-meaning lifeguard who also serves as the film’s narrator and Juno Temple, sexy in skintight dresses designed by Suzy Benzinger, shines as the sweet but somewhat slow-witted Carolina.
The cinematography by Vittorio Storaro is the real star here. His opening image captures a beach packed with New Yorkers on a sunny summer day, all attired in ‘50s-style swimsuits like a perfect picture postcard. WONDER WHEEL may not be Woody Allen working at the top of his form but it’s still recommended.
Woody Allen’s WONDER WHEEL is theClosing Night selection of the 55th New York Film Festival. Amazon Studios will release WONDER WHEEL in select theaters December 1st, 2017
Check out Jim Belushi, Juno Temple, Justin Timberlake and Kate Winslet in the Official Trailer:
WONDER WHEEL tells the story of four characters whose lives intertwine amid the hustle and bustle of the Coney Island amusement park in the 1950s: Ginny (Kate Winslet), an emotionally volatile former actress now working as a waitress in a clam house; Humpty (Jim Belushi), Ginny’s rough-hewn carousel operator husband; Mickey (Justin Timberlake), a handsome young lifeguard who dreams of becoming a playwright; and Carolina (Juno Temple), Humpty’s long-estranged daughter, who is now hiding out from gangsters at her father’s apartment. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro captures a tale of passion, violence, and betrayal that plays out against the picturesque tableau of 1950s Coney Island.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel as the Closing Night selection of the 55th New York Film Festival (September 28 – October 15), making its World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on Saturday, October 14.
Amazon Studios will release Wonder Wheel on December 1, 2017, the first film the studio will distribute independently.
In a career spanning 50 years and almost as many features, Woody Allen has periodically refined, reinvented, and redefined the terms of his art, and that’s exactly what he does with his daring new film.
We’re in Coney Island in the 1950s. A lifeguard (Justin Timberlake) tells us a story that just might be filtered through his vivid imagination: a middle-aged carousel operator (James Belushi) and his beleaguered wife (Kate Winslet), who eke out a living on the boardwalk, are visited by his estranged daughter (Juno Temple)—a situation from which layer upon layer of all-too-human complications develop. Allen and his cinematographer, the great Vittorio Storaro, working with a remarkable cast led by Winslet in a startlingly brave, powerhouse performance, have created a bracing and truly surprising movie experience.
New York Film Festival Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones said, “I’m not quite sure what I expected when I sat down to watch Wonder Wheel, but when the lights came up I was speechless. There are elements in the film that will certainly be familiar to anyone who knows Woody Allen’s work, but here he holds them up to a completely new light. I mean that literally and figuratively, because Allen and Vittorio Storaro use light and color in a way that is stunning in and of itself but also integral to the mounting emotional power of the film. And at the center of it all is Kate Winslet’s absolutely remarkable performance—precious few actors are that talented, or fearless.”
The New York Film Festival has showcased Allen’s work on two other occasions:Bullets Over Broadway was Centerpiece of NYFF32 in 1994 and Celebrity was Opening Night of NYFF36 in 1998.
The 18-day New York Film Festival highlights the best in world cinema, featuring works from celebrated filmmakers as well as fresh new talent. The selection committee, chaired by Jones, also includes Dennis Lim, FSLC Director of Programming; Florence Almozini, FSLC Associate Director of Programming; and Amy Taubin, Contributing Editor, Film Comment and Sight & Sound.
Earlier this summer, NYFF announced Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying as Opening Night and Todd Haynes’s Wonderstruck as the Centerpiece selection. The retrospective section honors Robert Mitchum’s centenary.
Tickets for the 55th New York Film Festival will go on sale September 10. VIP passes and packages are on sale now and offer one of the earliest opportunities to purchase tickets and secure seats at some of the festival’s biggest events, including the just-announced Closing Night. Learn more at filmlinc.org/packages.
Cinedigm has released the new trailer for director Reed Morano’s MEADOWLAND.
The drama screened in April at the Tribeca Film Festival. In her review, Sheila O’Malley (rogerebert.com) said Morano’s movie, “shows a strong visual style, at times overwrought and hallucinatory, at other times quiet and focused. The acting is terrific and grounded, without the expected theatrics or huge breakdowns. Grief is an enclosed and very silent world. That’s the thing that nobody tells you about it, and that’s the devastating process shown in “Meadowland.”
One of the must-see movies of 2015, the cast includes Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, Ty Simpkins, John Leguizamo, Kevin Corrigan, Merritt Wever, Scott Mescudi, Mark Feuerstein and Juno Temple.
In the hazy aftermath of an unimaginable loss, married couple Sarah (Olivia Wilde, Rush) and Phil (Luke Wilson, The Skeleton Twins) come unhinged, recklessly ignoring the repercussions. Phil, a New York City cop, starts to lose sight of his morals as Sarah puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations, falling deeper into her own fever dream.
The directorial debut of cinematographer Reed Morano and written by Chris Rossi, MEADOWLAND is a visceral exploration of grief and hope.
Check out the movie when it opens in theaters October 16th, On Demand October 23rd.
In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) persuades Irish mobster James “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp) to collaborate with the FBI and eliminate a common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade law enforcement, consolidate power, and become one of the most ruthless and powerful gangsters in Boston history.
The film stars Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Kevin Bacon, W. Earl Brown, David Harbour, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Nicholson, Corey Stoll, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott, and Juno Temple.
The score was composed by Tom Holkenborg (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” the reimagining of the action thriller “Point Break,” the crime comedy “Kill Your Friends,” and the upcoming “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”).
Directed by Scott Cooper, BLACK MASS opens in theaters September 18th and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
WAMG invites you to enter for a chance to win a pass (Good for 2) to the advance screening of BLACK MASS on Monday, September 14th at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
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Rated R for brutal violence, language throughout, some sexual references and brief drug use.
Opening in theaters September 18th, watch Johnny Depp in the brand new trailer for BLACK MASS.
The drama also stars Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Kevin Bacon, Rory Cochrane, David Harbour, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Nicholson, James Russo, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, Juno Temple, W. Earl Brown, Bill Camp, Brad Carter, and Jeremy Strong.
In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) persuades Irish mobster James “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp) to collaborate with the FBI and eliminate a common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the true story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade law enforcement, consolidate power, and become one of the most ruthless and powerful gangsters in Boston history.
Brian Oliver, Tyler Thompson, John Lesher, Patrick McCormick and Scott Cooper are producing the film, with Peter Mallouk, Lauren Selig, Brett Granstaff and Gary Granstaff serving as executive producers.
The screenplay is adapted from the book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob, by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill. The score is from Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, RUN ALL NIGHT).
HORNS is in theaters and On-Demand just in time to quench your fantasy withdrawal now that Halloween has come and gone. Last week, WAMG sat down with star Daniel Radcliffe in a small press conference to talk about his role of Ig in the film, SHARKNADO 2 : THE SECOND ONE (because, why not?), and his sweet flow on ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.’ Check it out below.
Based on the novel by Joe Hill, Horns is a supernatural thriller driven by fantasy, mystery and romance. The film follows Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe, “Harry Potter” films), the number one suspect for the violent rape and murder of his girlfriend, Merrin (Juno Temple). Hungover from a night of hard drinking, Ig awakens one morning to find horns starting to grow from his own head and soon realizes their power drives people to confess their sins and give in to their most selfish and unspeakable impulses – an effective tool in his quest to discover the true circumstances of his late girlfriend’s tragedy and for exacting revenge on her killer.
What it is about the allegory that Joe created in the novel, that was then translated into the script that let you come back into this serpentine world of a little biblical flair?
DANIEL RADCLIFFE : Yeah, I mean, that’s the thing. I suppose because Joe’s world in and of itself is so striking, and real, and exciting that there was never a moment where I was thinking… and you know, I think because Potter was such a part of my life I never think of the comparisons that other people might make, or similarities that might be drawn. The thing that attracted me to it was just the fact that it was so bold, and so heartbreaking and beautiful, and the story of this guys journey was something that I really connected to. And I felt like the allegory of turning into what you’re perceived as or feeling like an outsider, or being made to feel like an outsider is very strong, and something that I, and hopefully a lot of people can connect to.
Was it kind of fun having the reporters attack each other, or would you like to have that happen? [Laughs]
DANIEL RADCLIFFE : Yeah! Absolutley.
We could recreate that here!
DANIEL RADCLIFFE : Yeah! I was just going to say! This is kind of a fine opportunity! [laughs] Um. That’s a great scene. I won’t lie, like I took no small pleasure in that moment of catharsis. I mean, yeah. It’s one of the fun parts of the film, as well. It’s great that you have all of those great, fun moments in the film because the film also takes some dark, heavy turns as well. Yeah, I mean. I promise that I don’t think of you all in that way, but if I could hand-pick five or six journalists from the UK and sort of arrange a cage fight, I would. [Laughs]
Tell us about wearing the horns. Were they heavy? After a while did they start to look normal?
DANIEL RADCLIFFE : They looked really normal, and really quickly. That was what was remarkable about them, was that… Whenever you see a line in a script, and it says ‘The character has horns’ you go ‘Well, in my imagination that sounds fantastic, but how will it actually look?’ So, the first time I saw them on it was kind of a combination of relief, because they looked fantastic, and excitement. When you have something stuck to your head that can go either way. That has the potential to look silly, and it really doesn’t. The word ‘organic’ is one of my sort of most hated, overused words ‘Oh, just make it organic’ but they do. They look like they’re made out of organic material, and actually coming from my head. They only took, like, twenty minutes to put on. They were really fast.
With the inditement that these people [in the film] make, and how quickly they are to judge, are you able to relate and what could you bring to that from your experience?
DANIEL RADCLIFFE : Sure. I mean I definitely think that you relate, and magnify and distort things from your own life to help working as an actor. Definitely a theme in my life has been the gap between how I’m perceived and who I know myself to be… not that anyone has ever thought that I’ve killed someone, but the idea and the principle are kind of the same.
I’m curious about your experience working with the snakes in the film, and also Daniel, during the HORNS press conference at Comic-Con you mentioned your excitement for SHARKNADO 2 and I’m just curious if it lived up to the hype?
DANIEL RADCLIFFE : It totally did, obviously! [Laughs] It’s fantastic! And then, like a day later I met Tara Reid, and Ian Zering over the course of the next few days and was able to wax lyrical about it. I have a real affection for films like that, and with the second one, they knew even more, like they were even more self-aware and knew more what people liked about it and were able to make it bigger, and louder, and sillier, and fun. So, yeah, it was great… and what was the first part of your question? Snakes! [Laughs] They were fantastic! I actually didn’t know before doing the movie if I was comfortable with snakes. Turns out I’m extremely comfortable with snakes. I may have been completely projecting human emotions onto this creature, but I became completely convinced that she was very affectionate by the end. Because they get cold. Snakes aren’t cold-blooded. This was my favorite word I leaned on the shoot: they’re ‘poikilothermic,’ which means they can’t control their body temperature. So, whatever temperature it is outside, they will be. So they’re freezing, and then you’re really warm so they just love you and they just hug you, [laughs] but not in a constricting kind of way. So yeah, I really like them. We had one scene with a hundred live snakes, which was awesome. Yeah. Talk to Max Minghella about snakes. He’s not such a fan.
In this movie your characters are also played by actors at a younger age, and it got me to thinking about Jodie Foster’s comments on CONTACT, and how her performance was informed by Jena Malone’s. I was wondering if you had a similar experience with that, or if it was the other way around?
DANIEL RADCLIFFE : It was interesting because we didn’t really see a tremendous amount of what the kids were doing.I was off when they were doing stuff… I would be getting made up, or de-made up, or something would be going on so they would try to time it like that, so I really didn’t get to see a lot what they were doing. I got to spend a lot of time particularly with Mitchell on the movie. Mitchell is like I was when I was 13. He’s a kid from Winnipeg, and he’s like, a kid. He must be 14 now. He’s awesome… I just like the face that he’s blonde naturally. He’s got much fairer hair than I do, and they dyed his hair on the first day. And he went back to his hotel in Vancouver, and then nobody knew what he was doing and one of the girls said, ‘Oh you look like Harry Potter.’ It made his day. [Laughs] He was so happy. It’s a very hard job on the casting department to cast somebody to play young me, when everybody knows exactly what I look like at that age, and they did I think a brilliant job.
Is there a direct through line between learning your lines as an actor to actually being a good and efficient rapper? [Laughs]
DANIEL RADCLIFFE : I don’t think so. I don’t know if the two are connected. I mean, maybe the fact that I learn lines a lot helped me learn that song. I don’t know, because I do take things in aurally, the a-u aurally… sort of, very well. I went on the Fallon show and I rapped last night… It was amazing because I said in an interview ages ago, it was one of those things like, ‘Tell us something we don’t know about you.’ And I’d done a million interviews so I’m really struggling at this point to find something you don’t know about me. So I thought, ‘Well, I know all the words to ‘Alphabet Aerobics’ by Blackalicious.’ And then Rob, who always produces me on Fallon, called me up when we were doing press for WHAT IF and was like, ‘Could you do that on the show?’ and I was like ‘I… uh… I don’t know!’ I sort of freaked out. Then when we came to do it this time, he was like, ‘The Roots really want to do it with you.’ So I was like, ‘Oh, OK!’… Then what I didn’t realize was that I did the rehearsal, then Questlove came back into the dressing room and was like, ‘Yeah man, I’m going to text those guys. They’re going to be really excited. I produced their second album.’ So I was like, ‘Oh, OK. You, like, are friends with these guys.’ So I might not have been as bold as to suggest that had I known that, but I’m amazingly glad I did it. I was, like, shaking with adrenaline for a couple of minutes afterwards. It was awesome.
A film not yet released after having previously premiered over a year ago isn’t necessarily a good sign of things to come. Such is the case with HORNS. The adaptation of the popular horror novel by Joe Hill has sat on the shelf since first premiering at The Toronto International Film Festival in early September of 2013. This might not be the nail in the coffin for a film, especially since so many great films have sat for years collecting dust – just read about the behind the scenes story of THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. Still, the little voice in my head told me to proceed cautiously for fear of getting burned.
Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) is going through hell. He is dealing with the personal heartbreak of losing the love of his life (Juno Temple) and attempting to defend his name from a town that seems dead-set on finding him guilty. There’s no rest for the wicked. Especially not when your own family thinks your guilty. But what makes him look even worse in the eye of his enemies is that Ig wakes up one day with horns protruding from his head.
HORNS is an extremely dark and twisted fairy tale that benefits from some striking photography and beautiful art direction. It’s a visual and musical wonderland filled with mossy woods and small town charm. The fairy tale aspect is pushed even into Tim Burton territory at times mainly in part to a whimsical score by Robin Coudert that’s reminiscent of Danny Elfman’s work. A few college rock songs are thrown in as well and are utilized in some of the best scenes in the film, like one featuring Pixies or the recurring David Bowie track “Heroes.” It’s moments like these where you feel French director Alexandre Aja pushing himself to adapt the novel and finding success by giving the source material an energy that leaps off the page. Elsewhere he doesn’t have such luck.
I think it’s fair to say that certain images and situations are written specifically just to be read. HORNS doesn’t feel lost in translation as much as it feels a need to cram every idea, character, and visual from the book into the film. Keith Bunin’s script leaves no page unturned. An even flow is never achieved mainly because it feels so cumbersome due to so much going on and some heavy-handed themes. HORNS serves only to convey what’s in the book instead of Aja crafting a film that speaks to his own unique and often violent style.
Daniel Radcliffe does his best to convey the internal struggles of “the monster within.” It’s just with such a large ensemble cast, the focus is often adrift in disjointed scenes of side characters (Can someone please explain to me the reasoning behind Heather Graham’s extended cameo?) just so that the audience has potential suspects of who the murderer is. That being said, you can almost hear the organ cue or the crash of thunder in the background every time the killer not so subtly appears on-screen.
I wasn’t offended with HORNS as much as I was disappointed. I typically like Aja’s work (mostly) and enjoyed moments of the gallows humor and twisted fantasy elements in HORNS. There’s an abundance of material crammed into this naughty morality play and a director with a more objective eye should have noticed that. It’s not to say that HORNS is without a soul, it’s just that maybe Aja should not have obeyed everything the little devil on his shoulder was saying.
The first trailer has arrived for director Alexandre Aja’s HORNS. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, the upcoming film is based on Joe Hill’s cult novel.
Blamed for the murder of his girlfriend and ostracized by everyone he knows, a small-town guy Ig Perrish (Radcliffe) awakens one morning to find he’s grown a pair of horns. Armed with the supernatural powers they possess, he sets out to find the true killer.
What does Aja say about the source material? “It was not just a parable about good vs. evil, but a supernatural thriller with a romantic quest at its heart. As Joe Hill’s novel garnered a cult following and became a phenomena around the world, I felt it was my duty to respect its most original elements and to stay true to the fanbase.”
Also featuring Juno Temple, Max Minghella, Joe Anderson, Kelli Garner, Heather Graham, David Morse, Kathleen Quinlan, and James Remar, HORNS opens in theaters October 31st.
MALEFICENT has opened in theaters today and is poised to have a huge weekend at the box office.
With all the glitz and glamour of a huge Hollywood premiere, Disney pulled out all the stops on Wednesday as they rolled out the Blue Carpet at the El Capitan Theatre.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt autographed posters and took selfies with fans’ cell-phones. Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, and Sam Riley also posed for the mass of paparazzi.
Check out the plethora of images below and for more on the movie, read Melissa Howland’s review HERE.
IMAX released an exclusive featurette for Disney’s MALEFICENT where director Robert Stromberg explains his inspiration for the movie and why it should be seen in IMAX. “The Maleficent character is so iconic…why did she become evil? We find that out in this film. The first time I saw Maleficent in the IMAX format, it just blew me away.”
MALEFICENT, the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty,” reveals the events that hardened Maleficent’s heart and drove her to curse the baby, Aurora, only to later realize that the child may hold the key to peace in the land.
The film stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.
Directed by Robert Stromberg, MALEFICENT releases in theaters in 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D May 30th.
