(L-R) Mia Goth as Maxine and Halsey as Tabby, in MAXXXINE. Photo Credit: Justin Lubin. Courtesy of A24
Director Ti West and actor Mia Goth are back with a third film in the X horror series. MAXXXINE is a sequel to 2022’s X, while the second in the series, PEARL (also 2022), was a prequel. The first film, X, was a surprise hit at SXSW with audiences and critics, a kind of fun, tongue-in-cheek homage to both horror and porno films of the late 1970s and early 1980s, where the owner of a strip joint and his pals set out in make a porno film titled “The Farmers’ Daughters” at a rural house they have rented from an elderly couple, but without telling the old folks what kind of film they are making. Mia Goth plays in dual roles as one of the actresses in the porno, Maxine, and the elderly farm wife, Pearl. Following the traditions of horror films of that earlier era, their sexual misbehavior is punished by murder and mayhem.
MAXXINE is set in 1985 Hollywood, when the Night Stalker serial killer was roaming the streets. Mia Goth again plays Maxine, the sole survivor of the Texas massacre in the first movie, who is now working in the Hollywood adult film industry under the name Maxine Minx, while concealing her violent past. Maxine is ambitious to make the leap to mainstream movies via horror films, and gets her chance in an audition for “The Puritan II,” a sequel to a horror hit directed by Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki).
The film opens with black-and-white home movie footage of Maxine as a child performing on stage while hear her unseen preacher daddy (Simon Prast), who encourages her ambitions to be the “star” of the church, which sets up a backstory for ambitious Maxine. Maxine’s ambitions to step up to stardom via horror is backed by her agent/lawyer Teddy Knight (Giancarlo Esposito). But her closest friend and confidant is Leon (musician Moses Sumney), a clerk at the X-rated video store under her upstairs apartment. Ambitious and hardworking Maxine has a second job, as a live performer at a peep show, and declines two co-workers’ separate invitations to join them at a party at a fancy house near the Hollywood sign. As the Nightstalker takes more victims and police detectives (Bobby Cannavale and Michelle Monaghan) investigate the murders, a mysterious man, wearing black leather gloves, pays to see Maxine at the peep show but reacts with anger at what he sees. Shortly after, a sleazy Southern private detective, Labat (Kevin Bacon), contacts Maxine with a threat to reveal her past if she doesn’t accept his mysterious employer’s invitation to the house under the Hollywood sign.
MAXXXINE is absolutely packed with movie references and shots of icon Hollywood locations, including famous backlot sets, which is actually the biggest thrill in this horror-homage thriller.
As you can guess from the cast, the third film in the series has a bigger budget and hence a more star-studded cast, including Kevin Bacon, Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Monaghan and Giancarlo Esposito.
Like the first film, MAXXXINE is less an actual scary horror movie than an homage to horror movies, and to soft porn videos and drive-in fare of the early 1980s era. The Hollywood setting means the filmmakers could include wonderful location shots, such as the set for PSYCHO, and both visual and dialog references to a host of classic thrillers, including CHINATOWN, often with a dark humor twist, such as one with a Buster Keaton impersonator.
Mia Goth again does the good job she did the the first two films, and adding the stars to the cast are a bonus. A particular standout is Kevin Bacon, as the oily New Orleans private detective bedeviling Maxine, in a sleazy version of Jack Nicholson’s character in CHINTOWN (complete with bandaged nose) crossed with a number of gangster film baddies, until he gets his comeuppance via Giancarlo Esposito’s “Better Call Saul”-ish agent/lawyer.
In fact, the too-few moments like that and the many other movie references, along with the chance to see behind to facades of some famous film sets, such as going inside through the doors of the mansion on the hill behind the Bates Motel, are the major thrills in MAXXXINE. Otherwise, the movie is not very suspenseful or scary, and it has less tongue-in-cheek humor or Hammer Film fake bloodiness than the first one (although cheesy Hammer Film effects do get a mention). Of course, there is some gore and violence, but much less than you might expect, and the tension and thrills are sparse, as are the dark humor moments. It’s not the first time an indie film has been diminished by a bigger budget, of course, but audiences expecting the same horror-homage entertainment as the first one are likely to feel let down. However, fans of Old Hollywood and classic thrillers will get some treats in the movie’s tour of backlots and back streets circa 1985.
Ryan Gosling is Colt Seavers in THE FALL GUY, directed by David Leitch. Courtesy of Universal Pictures
A love letter to Hollywood and stunt men, THE FALL GUY is an entertaining, stunt-packed action/comedy film wrapped around a rom-com center, starring Ryan Gosling as a stuntman and Emily Blunt as the director on a big-budget action film. The two have a romantic history, and Gosling’s stuntman is longing to get her back, but there are plenty of complications, thanks mostly to the big-ego action star he is doubling and a manipulative high-powered producer, even before all those risky stunts.
Ryan Gosling follows up his Ken role in BARBIE with action-filled part as a hardworking stunt man, in director David Leitch’s THE FALL GUY. Leitch is a former stuntman, so he knows what he is doing here with this action-comedy. Leith goes with practical effects rather than green screen giving this entertaining, escapist delight an extra layer of enjoyment. The film was inspired by “The Fall Guy” TV show but draws on a host of movies about stunt work and movie-making like THE STUNT MAN and the Burt Reynolds’s vehicle HOOPER.
Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is the long-time stunt double for action-movie superstar Tom Ryan (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). While working on Tom’s latest thriller, Colt has fallen for assistant director Jody (Emily Blunt). Just as their romance is getting started, Colt suffers a serious injury when a stunt goes wrong. His confidence shaken, Colt retreats into isolation, quits stunt work and ghosts Jody. But when the high-powered producer (Hannah Waddingham) tracks Colt down and tells him that Jody, now the director on her first big-budget film, a sci-fi action epic called METALSTORM, wants him to once again stunt double her film’s star Tom Ryan, Colt eventually agrees. Filled with regret about Jody, Colt hopes to rekindle their love affair but when he shows up on location in Sydney, Australia, he discovers Jody didn’t ask for him and doesn’t know why he’s there. Still hurt, Jody does decide to let Colt stay on but she is constantly testing him, making him do stunts over and over, and over. Meanwhile, Colt’s friend, stunt coordinator Dan Tucker (Winston Duke), does what he can to help out the pining Colt.
But then writer Drew Pearce piles on another layer, the real reason the producer wanted Colt there: star Tom Ryan has gone missing. If Colt can’t find him, the studio will pull the plug on Jody’s big-break movie. No one else knows Tom actually has disappeared – they think it is just not showing up, as he sometimes does – and Colt has to get him back before anyone finds out. The stuntman sets out to find Tom, with a little help from the star’s assistant (Stephanie Hsu), but Colt quickly finds himself embroiled in something more complicated, a mystery with underworld types and more questions than answers.
THE FALL GUY has plenty of humor, sly Hollywood jokes and movie references. The practical-effects stunts are outstanding and nearly non-stop. THE FALL GUY features an action/thriller plot wrapped around a rom-com story (a genre that could use a reboot), with Gosling and Blunt delightful as the couple, going back-and forth about restarting their romance. The humor leans into move insider jokes and poking at Hollywood tropes and more, including some ribbing of Tom Cruise, but this is not primarily a satire but a celebration of the art and craft of movie stunts and the people who do them.
While THE FALL GUY is fun, it is not flaw-free. It gets off to a precarious start by not allowing enough time at the beginning for the audience to get really get to know the two lead characters enough to want to really cheer for their love story. Once on track with the hunt for the missing star, the plot gets overly far-fetched and then also gets bogged down in a series of fights and chases with the stuntman fighting real baddies on the streets of Sydney. But eventually THE FALL GUY gets back on track, recovers from those stumbles in time, with the help of appealing performances by Blunt and Gosling, and refocuses in time to deliver a bang-up stunt–filled finale and a crowd-pleasing Hollywood ending.
Whether or not you enjoy THE FALL GUY depends on how much you appreciate real stunt work over CGI, and also how much you like Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. For the right audience, it is one fun ride.
Scary films and monster movies are not only meant for the month of October, and this summer’s selection is proof – IT, ANNABELLE: CREATION, IT COMES AT NIGHT and THE MUMMY.
The evolution of creature technology and the fundamental role technology have played a huge part in shaping monster movies.
From the evolution of creature technology beginning with KING KONG (1933), BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954), HORROR OF DRACULA (1958), ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966), PLANET OF THE APES (1968), THE EXORCIST (1973), AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981) and ALIENS (1986) through the digital age of JURASSIC PARK (1993), ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE (2005) and KING KONG (2005), audiences love the monsters that grace the silver screen.
In honor of Universal’s THE MUMMY, opening in theaters this Friday June 9th, we decided to look back at one of our lists of those creepy, loveable characters that fill our dreams and create those nightmares during that 3am block when every creak in the house can be heard.
By Travis Keune
I grew up watching Godzilla, the Universal Monsters, the Harryhausen creations and a whole slew of b-movie creations. I have spent hours at a time, and still could, staring wide-eyed into the television at these creatures of the imagination. Those were the days, but these days we have a different standard of what’s cool and scary in the monster world. Here is my list of the top ten movie monsters, from 1980 to the present.
The Thing (1982) was director John Carpenter’s remake of the 1951 classic The Thing from Another World. While definitely falling comfortably into the scarce category of superior remakes, the fact is that this movie was an incredible horror thrill-ride. Kurt Russell plays MacReady, a researcher leading a group of scientists on an Antarctic expedition, when they are confronted by a mysterious alien presence that can shift its shape to that of who or what it just killed. The search is on to discover who is really the alien before they’re all dead. The Thing is full of nail-biting jump-outta your seat suspense, has a well-structured plot and the special effects are convincingly scary as hell. I would even go so far as to say the special effects were ground-breaking for their time.
Hellraiser (1987) was written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his own novel. Hellraiser introduced audiences to a new type of monsters. The story centers on a man and his wife who move into an old house, but soon discover the house holds an evil. This evil being turns out to be the woman’s former lover who has lost his earthly form to a group of torturous demons. Hellraiser brings a new style of demonic terror to the screen in the form of Pinhead and his masochistic Cenobites. The film would spawn a hugely popular franchise with several sequels, each of them introducing new Cenobites and altogether new and more gruesome ways to torture their victims.
Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) created one of the most fun and original movie monsters of all-time in Freddy Krueger. The story introduces the character after having been killed by the small town’s residents for being a child killer. Freddy Krueger, played by Robert Englund, returns in the town’s teens dreams to terrify and kill them one by one. Krueger turns his reign of terror on the town’s teens into a vivid, creative and often humorous carnival of absurdity while still maintaining its frightening nature. The film’s massive success would spawn a franchise with eight sequels and a television series. Englund would return to portray his trademark character in each and every sequel, including the television series.
An American Werewolf in London (1981) was directed by John Landis. Considered by most fans of the genre to be the greatest werewolf movie ever made [I agree], Landis perfectly combined shocking horror, dark comedy and some truly awesome special effects to create a literal horror masterpiece. The story follows two American tourists who are backpacking through England when they’re attacked by a werewolf. One of the two tourists escapes, but his friend Jack, played by Griffin Dunne, does not and is brutally mauled and killed … sort of. His friend Jack returns in the movie as an undead entity, taunting his living friend and warning him of what has and will happen. The movie is lots of fun and the creature effects, especially during the transformation from human to werewolf, were revolutionary in design.
Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) introduced the audience to the concept of these nomadic alien killing machines to audiences world-wide. However, Scott’s initial film was much more of a psychological horror film, whereas the concept of the alien threat and danger it presented was much more the antagonist than that of the alien itself. It wasn’t until James Cameron’s Aliens (1986) that H.R. Giger’s legendary alien design took hold with movie audiences as the popular movie monster we know it to be. Predator (1987) actually would not have made the top ten, but I paired it with Aliens due to its connected history and fan-base. While the predators are very cool, I never thought of them as scary monsters.
Ringu / The Ring & The Ring (2002), referring to the American remake by Gore Verbinski, may have you wondering why it made my top ten list. The truth is, I actually enjoyed both the original Japanese film Ringu (1998) and the American version. The Korean remake, The Ring Virus (1999) wasn’t bad, but it didn’t do anything new for me. The reason I’ve included The Ring in my top ten is due to its influence on the genre in America.
Since its success, we’ve been inundated with Hollywood remakes of Japanese and Korean horror films, which are usually far creepier than their American counterparts. Daveigh Chase was great as Samara Morgan, a young girl who returns as an evil spirit through the video tape. I only hope I never have a daughter capable of being that freakin’ scary, even as an actress.
Director Danny Boyle made waves with 28 Days Later (2002), a wholly new take on the zombie genre that bucks the boat on the traditional concept of zombies being lumbering, mindless masses that suck brains. Instead, Boyle’s film recreates them as hyper-aggressive, almost super-human killing machines, rampaging as though they’ve all gotten into some really strong PCP. In turn, it made for a much more exciting zombie film and also delivers it’s central message with a much more powerful punch. The film speaks to what the human race could ultimately face if we continue on our paths of selfish technological and intellectual progress, despite the clear and inevitable circumstances. How far do we go to achieve ‘perfection’ if by doing so we risk our own health and happiness?
Personally, Guillermo del Toro’s Blade II (2002) is the best of the three blade movies. His direction invoked a dark and mysterious atmosphere, the story carried some great supporting roles including Ron Perlman (one of my favorite character actors) as Reinhardt, and del Toro developed the coolest vampire interpretation I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. The reapers are a mutated species of vampire that feed on other vampires, thus leading Blade to reluctantly team-up with the vampire council to eradicate their mutual threat. The reaper’s creature design, combined with the action and dialogue, make for one helluva fun vampire killing spree, loaded with great fight choreography and some cool vampire-killing weapons. Yes, I am a huge fan of del Toro, but can you blame me?
Guess who? That’s right … my boy del Toro makes the list again. Hellboy (2004) is based on a comic book about a child demon that is adopted by a human, who raises it with Christian morals to become a soldier against evil. Actually, Hellboy is technically the least qualified movie to make my list, but it does for two reasons: Sammael, the hound of resurrection that simply wouldn’t die and Karl Ruprecht Kroenen, the invincible animated sand-filled puppet assassin. This movie is so much fun and so dark and creepy at the same time. Well, I have to I I
I admit that Hellboy also made this list with the help of its sequel due out in 2008, which looks to be an even bigger monster-fest than the original. I suppose Hellboy cheated a little in making this list, but that’s alright with me.
The two most recent qualifiers for my list, these films share the final spot for another reason; they are both a return to the giant monster genre that we’ve lacked for so long. Sure, we had Godzilla (1998) but does that really count? The especially nifty thing is that they’re both original works and they are both super cool. The Host (2006) is a Korean film that speaks to humans polluting the Earth through occupying American scientists discarding massive amounts of formaldehyde down the drain, resulting in a giant amphibian creature with a taste for humans. The Host is stylish and fun, with great action and special effects, often humorous and occasionally poking fun at itself. As for Cloverfield (2008), refer to my review of the film.
* Honorable mention is given to the following: Candyman, the Tall Guy and his spheres from Phantasm, Pumpkinhead, Cronenberg’s The Fly and Ghostbusters’ Stay Puft marshmallow man.
Welcome to a New World of Gods and Monsters – THE MUMMY arrives in theaters, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D on June 9.
We all have that one movie we love to watch over and over again. It can pop up on TV as you’re channel surfing and you are hooked for the next few hours. It doesn’t even matter at what point in the film you catch it – you’re in it until the end.
Or how about a Saturday night with friends or family, where you’ve ordered takeout, and no one can decide on which movie to watch on Netflix or On-Demand. There sitting on your shelf of Blus and DVDs is everyone favorite film. Depending on the mood, it could be a comedy, sci-fi adventure, or cult classic.
In a two-apart Academy Originals, filmmakers and stars are asked which movie they return to time and time again.
Don’t forget to watch the Oscars, February 26th live on ABC at 7pm est/4pm pst. Jimmy Kimmel will host the 89th Academy Awards from the Dolby Theatre in the heart of Hollywood.
2016 shaped up to be another fantastic year for moviegoers. As in past decades, every genre appealed to both fans and Academy voters right up to the biggie of all award shows, the Oscars. Below is a sampling of what AMPAS voters went for in the past fifty years.
1966’s A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS won Best Picture
1976’s ROCKY won Best Picture
1986’s PLATOON won Best Picture
1996’s THE ENGLISH PATIENT won Best Picture
2006’s THE DEPARTED won Best Picture
This year three hundred thirty-six feature films are eligible for the 2016 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced recently.
To be eligible for 89th Academy Awards consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.
Global ticket sales also proved to be impressive at the box office. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY crossed the $500 million mark globally after just 12 days in theaters. 2017’s lineup of upcoming releases is looking to be the year of the blockbuster. We just love to go to the movies!
The films on the Geeks list of the Best of 2016 had us laughing, had us crying, had us horrified, had us cheering and had us on silvery journey to La La Land.
Honorable Mentions:
LOVING
A warm, touching intimate portrait of the couple at the the center of the Supreme Court case that struck down laws against interracial marriage, director Jeff Nichols’ moving film is more a romance than a courtroom drama. A very private couple, Richard and Mildred Loving only want to be allowed to live a simple life and raise their children in the rural country where they grew up, but must engage in a persistent, dignified battle to do so. Ruth Negga is particularly striking as shy, sweet Mildred Loving, in a breakout performance.
ARRIVAL
Starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, ARRIVAL is a beautiful story about death and nature, and the mystery of life. Director Denis Villeneuve utilizes cinematographer Bradford Young’s photography to embrace with sensitivity and delicacy the relationship between a mother and her child in one of the most unique sci-fi adventures to come along in quite a while. Together the two filmmakers bring a lot of humanity and beauty to the movie.
10. HIGH-RISE
What if the party never ends? What if the apocalypse was happening around us and we were completely ambivalent to it because we were more focused on popping another bottle of champagne and not letting the music stop? More importantly, what if the guests actually want to drive themselves to the point of no return? HIGH-RISE is a masterful satire of society’s instinctual lust for depravity. Made with Kubrick-like precision, HIGH-RISE is an uncompromising look at an apocalyptic dystopia where the “party” is both a status symbol and an escape from the fire looming right outside our door.
9. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
Director Gareth Edwards energizes the long standing franchise with its first live-action spin-off based on just a line of dialogue from the 1977 original. Although the ending is known, this rollicking adventure packs plenty of surprises and humor (thanks to the snarkiest droid ever, the scene-stealing K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk), while giving us heroes who must make morally questionable choices for the greater good. There’s noble self-sacrifice tempered with a final scene that’s been made achingly poignant by recent events. Plus, fans finally get a no-holds-barred “sith lord” rampage!
8. THE WITCH
THE WITCH was the best horror film in a decade. Drawing on “The Crucible” to investigate religious hysteria in the 17th century, writer/director Robert Eggers (making his feature-length debut) delivered an atmospheric film that conjured a sustained feeling of dread, as is presented the unraveling of innocence as paranoia and the possible presence of the supernatural conspire to destroy a vulnerable family.
7. ELLE
Isabelle Huppert is riveting as a woman plotting a complex revenge on her attacker, in director Paul Verhoeven’s twisty revenge thriller,. ELLE is a film that upends all expectations and Huppert’s character is far from a conventional victim, a woman who seems to go about her regular life as the head of a company designing violent fantasy computer games while planning her revenge. Both unsettling and electrifying, ELLE is filled with a wicked dark humor and relentless, clever surprises.
6. HELL OR HIGH WATER
In this gritty modern-day Western, two brothers played by Chris Pine (proving he’s much more than a starship captain) and Ben Foster (superb as a violent loose-cannon) hit back at the greedy bankers by embarking on a multi-state robbery spree. Their story is heart-breaking and compelling, but director David Mackenzie gives equal time to their dogged pursuers played by a laid-back, drawling Jeff Bridges, a Texas Ranger overdue to retire, and Gil Birmingham, a mixed-raced lawman who bares the brunt of his partner’s un-PC ribbing. Writer Taylor Sheridan delivers a taut crime thriller that’s also a biting commentary on the economic demolition of small town USA.
5. JACKIE
The film unites award-winning director Pablo Larraín (NERUDA, NO) with Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman as they re-imagine the private side of one of the most profound moments of the 20th Century. Larraín gives a boldly unconventional spin to the biopic genre, mixing historical footage with complete fictional re-creations, and excavating just one critical moment in Jackie’s life, but in all its intricately woven layers. The centerpiece is Natalie Portman’s haunting, emotionally naked performance which gives the audience unusual access into Jackie Kennedy’s inner psyche in some of her most volatile, fragile, reflective and savvy moments. It is a performance filled with tiny, honest human details that underlie even the most imposing and carefully composed of public images.
4. HACKSAW RIDGE
HACKSAW RIDGE was both the most gruesome and inspiring movie of 2016. Combining a stellar and charming performances from Andrew Garfield, and Oscar-worthy direction from Mel Gibson, HACKSAW RIDGE showed WWII as a glorious character builder, a nurturing ground for male friendship, and an expression of man’s nobility and grit.
3. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Casey Affleck gives a remarkable, moving performance as a man who reluctantly returns to his New England seaside hometown after the sudden death of his older brother, a tragedy that leaves him in change of his teen-aged nephew. Director Kenneth Lonergan avoids expected movie conventions about grief and instead offers a realistic portrait of coping with loss, sprinkling their relationship with unexpected humor as real life often is, and completely believable “guy” interactions between them. The film also captures a strikingly sense of place, as well as painting a portrait of this New England working family. Every moment between the pair feels real and authentic, which makes the dramatic moments all the more powerful.
2. LA LA LAND
What makes LA LA LAND such an astonishing cinematic treat isn’t just the instantly palpable chemistry between Gosling and Stone, but it’s the pitch-perfect combination of casting, ambitious direction, and sumptuous design that harmoniously sing together. The film is about chasing your dreams despite what hardships may get in the way. Regardless of what happens, there’s a sense of happiness for what occurred and not sadness for what might end – as the “Audition” song states, “she said she’d do it again.” LA LA LAND is a romantic musical more in love with the journey than the destination. And what a magical journey it is.
1. MOONLIGHT
Director Barry Jenkins is not afraid to show an experience that is rarely seen in film, and in doing so, spotlighting the skin of his beautifully flawed characters. There are gorgeous shots of vivid colors being cast on their black skin, reflecting their situation and the internal conflict within each of them. This moving portrait of a man struggling with his identity subverts the “coming of age” tropes we have seen before, and presents a story in three parts that feels downright momentous. MOONLIGHT might be the quietest film of the year, but each frame is bursting with life and emotion in ways that few films have achieved this year.
Check out our contributors individual picks for the year that was 2016.
Jim Batts
Honorable Mentions: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, MOONLIGHT, and TOWER
10. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
9. LOVING
8. HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
7. DEPALMA
6. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
5. THE WITCH
4. SING STREET
3. HELL OR HIGH WATER
2. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
1. LA LA LAND
Tom Stockman
Honorable Mention: BIRTH OF A NATION
10. NEON DEMON
9. JACKIE
8. ELLE
7. THE LOBSTER
6. SHIN GODZILLA
5. HELL OR HIGH WATER
4. WEINER DOG
3. THE WITCH
2. CAFÉ SOCIETY
1. HACKSAW RIDGE
Cate Marquis
Honorable mentions: La La Land, The Handmaiden, Elvis and Nixon, A War, Weiner, Paterson, Captain Fantastic, Loving, Sully, A Monster Calls, A Man Called Ove, DePalma
10. JACKIE
9. BIRTH OF A NATION
8. I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
7. HAIL, CAESAR!
6. JULIETA
5. LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP
4. ELLE
3. HELL OR HIGH WATER
2. MOONLIGHT
1. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Michael Haffner
Honorable Mentions: 20th Century Women and Life, Animated
10. ARRIVAL
9. EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
8. GREEN ROOM
7. THE INVITATION
6. JACKIE
5. LA LA LAND
4. ELLE
3. MOONLIGHT
2. SWISS ARMY MAN
1. HIGH-RISE
Michelle McCue
Honorable Mention: NICE GUYS, NEON DEMON, LOVING and MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
10. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
9. JACKIE
8. HIGH-RISE
7. THE WITCH
6. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
5. MOONLIGHT
4. LA LA LAND
3. HACKSAW RIDGE
2. HELL OR HIGH WATER
1. ARRIVAL
So many goodies in the cinemas candy store this upcoming Awards Season! Oh,boy, oh boy.
It’s “Good Movie Season” when we get Hollywood heavy-hitters (both top popcorn entertainment and Oscar wannabees), and the best of the film festival circuit, most recently from Toronto. Many films will have an awards qualifying run in 2016 and open officially in 2017.
While we have not seen some of these (although we have seen some trailers), some movies are sure to disappoint. That said, here is WAMG’s list of highly-anticipated films, both big blockbuster entertainment and seriously meaty cinema.
The Sherlock supreme becomes the sorcerer supreme as one of the founding Marvel comics heroes finally arrives in the Marvel “movie-verse”.
While other Marvel Studios flicks have explored the worlds of hi-tech, Norse mythology, and space opera, director Scott Derrickson guides us through the realms of magic. Most of us really enjoyed Benedict Cumberbatch in BBC’s Sherlock and was blown away by his take on Hamlet (the most original version of the part we’ve ever seen), so we’re eager to see what he does with this character.
Hey, it’s been six months since Steve and Tony faced off, so another trip to Marvel-land is definitely in order!
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY – DEC. 16
Last year movie fans happily returned (in droves) to that “galaxy far, far away”, so a follow-up is no surprise. We’ll have to wait a bit for episode eight, so instead director Gareth Edwards brings us the first live-action Star Wars spin-off, a prequel to the events of episode four. The trailer looks good and the strong female character is a big draw. Plus word is that a certain sith lord will be back on the big screen.
LOVING – NOV. 4
This has been on our most-anticipated list for awhile. It’s a great piece of history and seems like it has potential to be both timely and uplifting serious drama.
From acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols, “Loving” celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry – and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since.
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM – NOV. 18
Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates, who helmed the last four “Harry Potter” blockbusters.
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incidentwere it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM also stars Katherine Waterston (“Steve Jobs,” “Inherent Vice”) as Tina; Tony Award winner Dan Fogler (“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”) as Jacob; Alison Sudol (“Dig,” “Transparent”) as Tina’s sister, Queenie; Ezra Miller (“Trainwreck”) as Credence; two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton (“In America,” “Sweet and Lowdown”) as Mary Lou; Oscar winner Jon Voight (“Coming Home,” TV’s “Ray Donovan”) as Henry Shaw, Sr.; Ron Perlman (the “Hellboy” films) as Gnarlack; Carmen Ejogo (“Selma”) as Seraphina; Jenn Murray (“Brooklyn”) as Chastity; young newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty; and Colin Farrell (“True Detective”) as Percival Graves.
The film marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, whose beloved Harry Potter books were adapted into the top-grossing film franchise of all time. Her script was inspired by the Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by her character Newt Scamander.
THE FOUNDER
We always thought it was odd that the family that owned McDonald’s had a different name, so we’re hoping that makes for an intriguing story. The strong cast raise hopes for this one. The new “based on true events” flick from SAVING MR. BANKS director John Lee Hancock pulls the curtain back on the “happy meal” kingdom with this look at Ray Kroc, who’s played by “comeback kid” Michael Keaton. Plus, the great Nick Offerman co-stars as one of the McDonald brothers.
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS – DEC. 9
The trailer was intriguing, we have a weakness for good psychological thrillers and hope this film satisfies that craving. Director Tom Ford means it will be a stylish ride, and Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michael Shannon in the cast are a strong point too.
ARRIVAL – NOV. 11
The trailer makes it look like a thinking person’s science fiction tale. We loved the director Denis Villeneuve’s previous film INCENDIES and liked SICARIO, and this one got a lot critics’ interest at TIFF.
When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team – lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) – are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA – DEC. 2
After the death of his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler), Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is shocked to learn that Joe has made him sole guardian of his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Taking leave of his job, Lee reluctantly returns to Manchester-by-the-Sea to care for Patrick, a spirited 16-year-old, and is forced to deal with a past that separated him from his wife Randi (Michelle Williams) and the community where he was born and raised. Bonded by the man who held their family together, Lee and Patrick struggle to adjust to a world without him.
In his first film since 2011’s acclaimed Margaret, Lonergan once again proves himself a powerful and visionary storyteller as he seamlessly weaves past and present together, crafting a tension-filled tale that deftly eschews sentimentality in favor of penetrating emotional insight and deeply affecting human relationships.
It was on lots of critics “best” lists for TIFF, so we’re interested. Casey Affleck won particular praise for his performance. Who isn’t a sucker for those New England accents?
ALLIED – NOV. 23
In a story that sounds like a tribute to the Hitchcock classic NOTORIOUS, Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard find romance while modeling spectacular 1940’s fashions and thwart the Axis. And the return of director Robert Zemeckis makes this thriller a must see.
MOONLIGHT – NOV. 11
Based on the way this one won critics’ hearts at TIFF, we’re really looking forward to seeing this African American family drama, which follows a young black man as he grows to adulthood in Miami.
From writer/director Barry Jenkins and starring Trevante Rhodes, Naomie Harris, Andre Holland, and Mahershala Ali.
SILENCE
Basically because it is Martin Scorsese but also because the story of missionaries in 17th century Japan sounds intriguing.
20TH CENTURY WOMEN
A comedy from director of BEGINNERS, which we loved, plus a great cast with Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning, and Billy Crudup.
JACKIE – DEC. 2 Select Theaters
JACKIE is a searing and intimate portrait of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history, seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady, then Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (Natalie Portman). JACKIE places us in her world during the days immediately following her husband’s assassination. Known for her extraordinary dignity and poise, here we see a psychological portrait of the First Lady as she struggles to maintain her husband’s legacy and the world of “Camelot” that they created and loved so well.
FENCES – DEC. 25
A great play by August Wilson, and with Denzel Washington directing, we are hoping for a strong film version as well.
LION – NOV. 25
Five year old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.
GOLD – DEC. 25
GOLD is the epic tale of one man’s pursuit of the American dream, to discover gold. Starring Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey as Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, he teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on an amazing journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia. Getting the gold was hard, but keeping it would be even harder, sparking an adventure through the most powerful boardrooms of Wall Street. The film is inspired by a true story. Directed by Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan (TRAFFIC, SYRIANA), the film stars Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey (INTERSTELLAR, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET) and Golden Globe nominees Edgar Ramirez (HANDS OF STONE, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN) and Bryce Dallas Howard (JURASSIC WORLD, PETE’S DRAGON).
HACKSAW RIDGE – NOV. 4
Director Mel Gibson returns to the director’s chair with HACKSAW RIDGE – the extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Opening in theaters November 4, we’re counting on this one to be an Awards Season contender.
THE COMEDIAN
Academy Award winner Taylor Hackford’s comedy, THE COMEDIAN will have an awards qualifying run in 2016 in New York and Los Angeles and open officially in 2017. Written by Art Linson, THE COMEDIAN stars Academy Award winner Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Edie Falco, Harvey Keitel, Danny DeVito, Patti LuPone and Veronica Ferres.
An aging comic icon, Jackie (Robert De Niro) has seen better days. Despite his efforts to reinvent himself and his comic genius, the audience only wants to know him as the former television character he once played. Already a strain on his younger brother (Danny DeVito) and his wife (Patti LuPone), Jackie is forced to serve out a sentence doing community service for accosting an audience member. While there, he meets Harmony (Leslie Mann), the daughter of a sleazy Florida real estate mogul (Harvey Keitel), and the two find inspiration in one another resulting in surprising consequences.
LA LA LAND – December
WHIPLASH director Damien Chazelle’s follow-up flick is an all singing, all dancing musical epic that pairs Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling for a third time on screen. Let’s hope Oscar winner J.K. Simmons gets in on the toe-tappin’ fun!
MOANA – NOV. 23
After three years, Disney Animation Studios finally gives us another big cartoon musical feature. It features songs from the FROZEN folks along with Broadway sensation Lin-Manual Miranda. And Dwayne Johnson voices a Samoan demi-god, who will hopefully croon a tune!
PATRIOTS DAY
An account of the Boston Marathon bombing, PATRIOTS DAY is the powerful story of a community’s courage in the face of terror.
In the aftermath of an unspeakable attack, Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) joins courageous survivors, first responders and investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the bombers before they strike again. Weaving together the stories of Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon), Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (J.K. Simmons) and nurse Carol Saunders (Michelle Monaghan) this visceral and unflinching chronicle captures the suspense of one of the most sophisticated manhunts in law enforcement history and celebrates the strength of the people of Boston.
PATERSON – DEC. 28
Paterson is a bus driver in the city of Paterson, New Jersey—they share the name.
Every day, Paterson adheres to a simple routine: he drives his daily route, observing the city as it drifts across his windshield and overhearing fragments of conversation swirling around him; he writes poetry into a notebook; he walks his dog; he stops in a bar and drinks exactly one beer; he goes home to his wife, Laura.
By contrast, Laura’s world is ever changing. New dreams come to her almost daily, each a different and inspired project. Paterson loves Laura and she loves him. He supports her newfound ambitions; she champions his gift for poetry.
The film quietly observes the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details.
A Film by Jim Jarmusch. Starring Adam Driver, Goldshifteh Farahani and Helen-Jean Arthur.
PASSENGERS – DEC. 21
Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are two passengers onboard a spaceship transporting them to a new life on another planet. The trip takes a deadly turn when their hibernation pods mysteriously wake them 90 years before they reach their destination. As Jim and Aurora try to unravel the mystery behind the malfunction, they begin to fall for each other, unable to deny their intense attraction… only to be threatened by the imminent collapse of the ship and the discovery of the truth behind why they woke up.
COLLATERAL BEAUTY – DEC. 16
Oscar winner David Frankel (“Dear Diary,” “The Devil Wears Prada”) directs the thought-provoking, ensemble drama COLLATERAL BEAUTY, from New Line Cinema, Village Roadshow Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures.
When a successful New York advertising executive (Will Smith) experiences a deep personal tragedy and retreats from life entirely, his colleagues devise a drastic plan to force him to confront his grief in a surprising and profoundly human way.
COLLATERAL BEAUTY features an all-star cast, including Will Smith (“Suicide Squad,” “Concussion”), Edward Norton (“Birdman or [The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance]”), Keira Knightley (“The Imitation Game”), Michael Peña (“The Martian”), Naomie Harris (“Spectre”), Jacob Latimore (“The Maze Runner”), with Oscar winners Kate Winslet (“The Reader,” “Steve Jobs”) and Helen Mirren (“The Queen,” “Trumbo”).
THE EAGLE HUNTRESS – NOV. 18
THE EAGLE HUNTRESS follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down from father to son for centuries.
Set against the breathtaking expanse of the Mongolian steppe, THE EAGLE HUNTRESS features some of the most awe-inspiring cinematography ever captured in a documentary, giving this intimate tale of a young girl’s quest the dramatic force of an epic narrative film.
A MONSTER CALLS – Limited Dec 23, 2016 & Wide Jan 6, 2017
A visually spectacular drama from director J.A. Bayona (“The Impossible”). 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall), dealing with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness, a less-than-sympathetic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver), and bullying classmates, finds a most unlikely ally when a Monster appears at his bedroom window. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth. Toby Kebbell plays Conor’s father, and Liam Neeson stars in performance-capture and voiceover as the nocturnally visiting Monster of the title.
Hollywood is filled with movies honoring working people and labor unions. I like labor unions but not everyone does – and well, labor unions (or union leaders) haven’t always been perfect. On Labor Day, we ran a pro-labor list but to reflect that other viewpoint, this edition of Throwback Thursday focuses on a Labor Behaving Badly list – films about bad or crooked union bosses, strikes gone wrong, workers behaving badly, and even a few anti-union films.
On The Waterfront (1954)
This excellent drama from director Elia Kazan is the gold standard of this kind of film, with a corrupt union boss (Lee J. Cobb) who have become a virtual dictator, treating the union like his own little army to do his bidding. One man, Terry Malone (Marlon Brando), stands up to him and breaks the power of the boss. Bad behavior indeed, and one heck of a good movie.
Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)
Union corruption, violence, drugs and prostitution – labor is keeping pretty bad company here. Set in a crime-ridden Brooklyn, it the lives of a mixed group of people struggling at the bottom of the economic ladder. Stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as a prostitute who falls in love with a client.
F.I.S.T. (1978)
Said to be a fictionalized version of Jimmy Hoffa’s rise to union power, Norman Jewison’s drama features Sylvester Stallone as Johnny Kovak, a man who joins the Teamsters union and works his way up, becoming more ruthless as he climbs. Not as stylish a film as Hoffa, and one thing is sure: Sylvester Stallone is no Jack Nicholson.
Waiting for Superman (2010)
Know what’s wrong with public schools? Huge class sizes? More spending on athletics than academics? School superintendents getting huge salaries? Naw, it’s teachers unions! High schools really DO need a principal and two vice principals for every grade, plus an executive principal for the whole school.
I’m All Right, Jack (1959)
The Brits had problems with complacent, bloated unions and corrupt union leaders in the post-WWII years too, but this film tackles that issue by going the mocking, cynical humor instead of “On The Waterfront’s” drama. Peter Sellers plays goofy Fred Kite, a dimwitted union leader who adores the Soviet Union and believes his workers should do as little work as possible. The strike was actually deliberately provoked. as away to raise his price on a lucrative military contract. More a case of dumb union leaders rather than corruption.
Blue Collar (1978)
Union corruption is the theme here, clearly in the vein of “On the Waterfront.” Three Detroit auto workers (Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto), unhappy with both management and the union, decide to break in a local union office and rob it. The cash amount in the safe is disappointingly small but they find something else – documents suggesting links to organized crime and other signs of union leader corruption.
Billy Elliot (2000)
The main story of this film is about a working-class boy who does something unexpected by falling in love with ballet, but the backdrop is Northeast England during the 1984-85 coal miners strike. Local miners went on strike, trying to prevent the shutdown of the mines by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but it all went wrong. In some areas, miners kept working, the union failed to take a vote at the national level, and many other unions didn’t support the striking miners union. The failure of the strike was a major blow to unions in Britain, Britain went from 174 mines in 1983 to 6 in 2009, many of the mining towns vanished, and Britain now imports most of its coal.
North Country (2005)
Neither management or union officials look good in this fictionalized film based of the efforts of several real women in the ’70s and ’80s, who dared to want to work jobs in formerly men-only industries. Charlize Theron plays the beleaguered composite character, a single mother drawn to that bigger paycheck for “men’s work” and outside the low-paid “pink collar” fields. Management is sexist, co-workers are abusive and the union does nothing to help.
The Molly Maguires (1970)
In the pre-union years of the Industrial Revolution, both bosses and workers could get pretty bare-knuckled to get what they wanted. Based on a true story, this film about Pennsylvania coal miners features a thuggish proto-union group, the Molly Maguires, led by Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery), battling the company for better pay and decent working conditions. Unlike actual unions, the Molly Maguires don’t mind breaking equipment, heads or laws. But the bosses play tough too – they call in the Pinkertons and things get bloody. The film is directed by Martin Ritt, who also directed “Norma Rae.”
Won’t Back Down (2012)
Kind of a fictional version of “Waiting for Superman,” with two moms (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis) deciding the teachers union is to blame for their failing school. However, in this version, the corrupt teachers union is working with a corrupt school board to make everything bad for students. But the solution is the same as “Waiting for Superman” – privatized public “charter” schools, which actually, on average, have the same success rate as regular public schools or worse. As this film sees it, good teachers are on call 24/7 and don’t expect to be paid for their work – they just do it for the love of their students.
STAR WARS, E.T., RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, BACK TO THE FUTURE – movies we watch over and over. Everyone has a list of favorites they love to watch.
The Academy recently asked what movie they’ve watched the most in the latest edition of Academy Originals.
Speaking of movies, the biggest awards show is just a few months away – the 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Last weekend, we honored Labor Day with a list of films celebrating labor unions and working people. But as every mother knows there is another kind of “labor.” Two things that Hollywood loves – weddings and births – are the subjects of countless films. To celebrate that other kind of “labor day,” here are a half-dozen movies (in no particular order) about having a baby with a birth scene.
1. Knocked Up (2007)
Judd Apatow’s guy-humor comedy features Kathryn Heigl in a very graphic birth scene with some shots you won’t soon forget (in the unedited version), which some have suggested might serve as birth control for some women out there.
2. The Back-Up Plan (2010)
Probably the weirdest movie birth scene -a home birth in a pool, surrounded by your closest friends, some of whom do not want to be there. Not sure an audience is really called for with this significant life event, except in the movies, of course.
3. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
This is not how you want your pregnancy to turn out. Roman Pulaski’s chilling film about a happily-married young woman (Mia Farrow) unaware that the baby she is carrying is the child of Satan.
4. Children of Men (2006)
Babies have become very, very scarce in this dystopian futuristic world, so who know how to deliver one anymore? Seriously, this is a serious, intelligent film set in a world where no babies have been born for years – until unexpectedly one woman (Clare-Hope Ashitey) turns up pregnant. One man (Clive Owen) makes a desperate effort to save her and her baby, as a violent, overcrowded, decaying world descends into chaos.
5. Juno (2007)
This award-winning comedy explores some serious issues around teen pregnancy and adoption, with Ellen Page and Michael Cera as the teen parents, J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney as Juno’s supportive parents, and Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner as the potential adoptive ones. The birth scene is pretty standard and not shocking but it is such a worthy, well-acted film about pregnancy and birth is deserves a mention.
6. Baby Mama (2008)
In this comedy, a successful woman (Tina Fey) with fertility problems but a strong desire to have a baby decides to hire a surrogate (Amy Poehler) to have a baby on her own. In a more realistic birth scene, demands drugs and has a pretty sharp and cutting description of what it feels like giving birth.
How many times have you come out of a theater after seeing a great movie and said,”oh I want to see that again!?” We all have our favorites that we return to time and time again. Friday night always seems the perfect time too. You’re relaxing after a week of school, activities and work and you unwind with a comfortable favorite film.
WAMG has our own personal favs. You’ll find blockbusters on our list…just because it invokes the fun memories of seeing it for the first time in the theater…with friends/family…then non-stop gabbing about wanting to see it again.
Looking for the perfect movie for a Friday Night? Check out our list below!
MEATBALLS Four words – “It Just Doesn’t Matter!”
THE BURBS Hilarious cast, suburbanites Tom Hanks, Rick Ducummon, Bruce Dern and Carrie Fisher, made up Joe Dante’s comedy about the unusual neighbors next door (Yes, we all have ’em) is required watching, along with munching on popcorn, as you head into any weekend.
THE MALTESE FALCON After watching current films all week, we sometimes like to get back to an old black and white classic from the Golden Age of Hollywood. This quinessential film noir – one of the films to establish the type – is full of plot twists, mystery, shady characters and fine photography. Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade is the perfect private eye, setting the type, and everything exists in moral shades of grey in this black and white world. While packed with unforgettable characters and strong acting, the contrast between Spade’s loyal secretary and the mysterious, irrestible Brigid O’Shannessy (we don’t even know if that is her real name) are particularly memorable. A film we enjoy seeing over and over.
FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL KILL! Opening with a narrator intoning “Ladies and gentlemen – welcome to violence!”, FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL KILL! (1966) tells the sordid tale of a trio of bisexual amazon go-go girls on a neck-breaking crime spree in the Californian desert. Director Russ Meyer’s audacious sense of eroticism, comic timing, and social satire is off the charts in FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL KILL!, a movie John Waters once described as “The best movie ever made, and possibly better than any movie that will ever be made.”
SIGNS “Swing away, Merrill. Merrill, swing away.” Perfect for a Friday night, Joaquin Phoenix goes mano a mano with Alien invaders in M. Night Shyamalan’s sci-fi creeper.
GALAXY QUEST Once you’ve finished with SIGNS, this is the next movie you’ll want to pop in and wish there had been a sequel – at the very least a weekly TV show about the intergalactic voyages of the NSEA Protector.
THAT THING YOU DO The “OH-NEEDERS”, better known as the one hit WONDERS, is a musically fun romp back to the 60’s for a Friday evening. Directed by Tom Hanks, and starring Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Johnathon Schaech and the hilarious Steve Zahn, the film shows a simpler time when being famous was a ton of fun and records were released.
SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE 2 If I’m staying at home on a Friday Night… Slumber Party Massacre 2… Do you love Andrew Dice Clay and the Fonze mixed with a serial killer with a fringe jacket? Then this film is for you! Add the fact that his name is “the driller killer”, as well as one liners such as “I can’t get no… Satisfaction!” and you’ve got yourself a party!!!!
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE The perfect flick to kick off the weekend just may be that comedy classic from 1978 NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE. It’s the greatest R-rated (for raunch) ultimate movie showdown between the slobs (our heroes at Delta) and the snobs(“Douggie and Greggy, and assorted other Hitler youth). It transformed John Belushi from late night TV star to comedy legend. Toga!! Toga!!
JURASSIC PARK Director Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece is one of the most successful films in worldwide box office history and remains a compelling and spectacular experience. This thrilling adventure features Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough. Featuring incredible special effects and action-packed drama, Jurassic Park takes you to a remote island where an amazing theme park with living dinosaurs is about to turn deadly, as five people must battle to survive among the prehistoric predators.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Speaking of Spielberg, no Friday night is complete without tag teaming JP to RAIDERS. Show it for the first time to a friend or family member who may still be in need of their Geek card, and watch their face light up during the famous golden idol and boulder scene. The ultimate scene is the showdown in the marketplace between the sword and gun.
DAZED AND CONFUSED Director Richard Linklater’s follow-up to Slacker takes an autobiographical look at some Texas teens (including Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey) on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd (Jason London), who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a “no drugs” pledge.
STAR WARS Hollywood prodigies George Lucas’ and Steven Spielberg’s films were in a continual state of one upping each other at the Box Office during the 1970’s. The Grandfather of all Summer Blockbusters, JAWS, was released in 1975 and was a huge hit with audiences and at the Box Office – until STAR WARS came along in May 1977. With too many familiar quotes to count, this is the ultimate Friday Night Movie. “If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine,” is still so gut-wrenching to watch.
