When I reviewed the Well Go USA Entertainment’s Blu-ray release of LET’S KILL WARD’S WIFE, I called it “a fun and sometimes even sweet little comedy” (I also called it odd, misogynistic and mean-spirited). Read all of my review HERE
LET’S KILL WARD’S WIFE is the Blackly Comedic Caper Starring Amy Acker, Patrick Wilson, Nicollette Sheridan, Scott Foley, Greg Grunberg and Donald Faison about helping a friend out of a bad relationship by any means necessary.
We are Movie Geeks has three copies of the LET’S KILL WARD’S WIFE Blu-ray to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment below and tell us what your favorite movie with the word ‘Kill’ in the title is (Mine is FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL KILL!). It’s so easy! We’ll pick the winners next week. GOOD LUCK!
LET’S KILL WARD’S WIFE is an odd dark comedy about a group of attractive young L.A. suburbanites getting away with murder – to be more specific: killing Ward’s wife. Ward’s wife has a name – it’s Stacy (she’s played by Dagmara Dominczyk), and she (according to this movie) deserves to die because she is one horribly domineering battle-ax. She won’t let her husband (Donald Faison) play golf with his three best buddies; personal trainer Ronnie (James Carpinello), writer Tom (Scott Foley), or struggling actor David (Patrick Wilson), who keeps getting cast in shows only to see his character promptly killed off. Stacy also won’t let Ward touch her, make a sound, or even breathe too loudly. Everyone hates her. Ward’s trio of pals joke about killing Amy so their friend can have his life back, but David also goes as far as researching ways to dispose of a body. After Amy actually is killed (kinda sorta accidently) by Tom, the four men and two of their wives (Amy Acker and Marika Dominczyk) spend the rest of the film cutting up and hiding the pieces of her corpse, but not before Ward memorializes his wife’s death by peeing in the bathtub that contains her chopped-up remains. No one seems particularly freaked out about the fact that they’re all accessories to murder, but they are careful not to let Ward’s cop neighbor (Greg Gunberg) in on their secret. LET’S KILL WARD’S WIFE has a happy ending: Ward gets to hang out with his pals again, and the guys get to rekindle the relationships with their own wives. If you think all of this sounds horribly misogynistic and mean-spirited, you’d be right (did I mention Amy has a baby!?), but if taken for what it is – an earnest lesson about how the death of an obnoxious, negative person can improve the lives of those who they touched, LET’S KILL WARD’S WIFE is a fun and sometimes even sweet little comedy that flies by at just 82 minutes. The entire cast plays it at just the right absurdist level (Patrick Wilson is especially pitch perfect), and there are some very funny moments involving the mutilation of Amy’s body.
LET’S KILL WARD’S WIFE is written and directed by Scott Foley with some all-in-the-family casting. In real life, Foley is married to Marika Dominczyk (she plays David’s wife in the movie) who is also the real life sister of Dagmara Dominczyk (Ward’s wife) who is the real life wife of Patrick Wilson. James Carpinello’s real life wife is Amy Acker (she plays Tom’s wife), and also onboard is the real life daughter of Carpinello/Acker and the real life son of Foley/Marika … plus the younger sister of Marika and Dagmara.
LET’S KILL WARD’S WIFE received a brief theatrical run in a couple of cities and the Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment hits stores on March 3rd. We Are Movie Geeks has had a peek.
LET’S KILL WARD’S WIFE isn’t exactly a stunner in the image department with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, mostly because of the cheap-looking “TV comedy movie” lighting, which tends to be flat and often overly bright. The sense of clarity is usually quite strong, though, with visible fine detail almost always visible in the actors’ faces, hair, and clothing. The contrast is stable, saturation is good, and skin tones balanced, so overall a decent MPEG-4 AVC Blu-ray presentation of a visually uninteresting movie.
Likewise, the audio here is solid but strictly functional, with bare-bones sound design that does what it needs to do and not much more, but the disc’s lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is mostly sharp and clear.
The only extras are a trailer and about five worthless minutes of outtakes.
Here’s a first look at Atlas Independent’s gritty thriller THE MAN ON CARRION ROAD, directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego and starring Patrick Wilson, Ian McShane, Jim Belushi, Lynn Collins, and John Leguizamo.
Produced by Atlas’ William Green, Aaron Ginsburg, and Andy Horwitz, THE MAN ON CARRION ROAD follows a retired sheriff (McShane) and his replacement (Wilson) as they investigate a cartel deal gone wrong, while hunted by a vicious hit man (Leguizamo).
Gonzalo López-Gallego previously directed OPEN GRAVE starring Sharlto Copley and APOLLO 18.
Relativity International’s Camela Galano is handling international sales in Cannes.
A haunted family struggles to uncover a terrifying secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world in INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2, the latest nerve-twisting horror thriller from director James Wan (THE CONJURING) and screenwriter Leigh Whannell (SAW, INSIDIOUS).
FilmDistrict has come out with some frightening new images from the upcoming film.
INSIDIOUS centers on the troubles of the Lamberts, a suburban family who leave their haunted house for a new home, only to learn it’s not their house that is haunted – it’s their eldest son. INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 rejoins the family as they try to put their recent troubles behind them, but discover that the spirits that have tormented them are far from finished.
Working individually and collectively, director James Wan, screenwriter Leigh Whannell and producer Jason Blum have been responsible for some of the most influential, commercially successful and flat-out terrifying horror thrillers of the past decade.
In 2004 Wan and Whannell unleashed the groundbreaking and hugely popular Saw, which spawned a blockbuster franchise on which Whannell continued to serve as a writer (SAW II and III) and executive producer. Wan most recently helmed the acclaimed haunted-house tale, THE CONJURING, while Blum has shepherded such blood-curdling hits as PARANORMAL ACTIVITY and SINISTER to the screen. Together, the trio collaborated on the disturbing and original 2011 psychological horror thriller INSIDIOUS, a micro-budgeted that became the profitable theatrical release that year.
Now all three filmmakers are back – along with the entire cast of INSIDIOUS – with INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2, which continues the story of the Lambert family’s life-and-death struggle with malignant spirits bent on destroying their lives.
WARNING: There are major spoilers ahead, so go no further beyond the new photos if you want to be surprised when the film opens on Friday the 13th in September.
Photo credit: Matt Kennedy/FilmDistrict
Wan and Whannell took the unusual step of calling the film INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 because it picks up right where the first film ends. “Not too many sequels try that, but we loved the idea of creating back-to-back stories,” says Whannell. “You could almost watch them as one movie, or as chapters in the same story. We see Josh murder Elise, but Renai doesn’t see it and she’s not quite sure what’s going on. So at the start of the second film, everything seems back to normal, but slowly you realize something is terribly wrong.”
In addition to picking up the tale of the Lambert family where the original left off, INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 explores a larger mythology and backstory for the characters, says Wan. “It’s really a bigger movie,” he says. “When we were making the first film, we had plans and ideas for a follow-up, but we didn’t push it all the way. We thought, ‘We’ll see. We’ll play with it and see how it goes. There may be a potential second storyline.’ And sure enough, when the first film did well, we could actually go back and pull out that second storyline and continue it.”
INSIDIOUS revolves around young Dalton Lambert, who has the ability to travel out of his physical body—a gift he inherits from his father, Josh. As a result of this ability, he is haunted by the spirit of a mysterious old woman and a red-faced demon who seek to possess his physical body. It’s also revealed that, as a boy, Josh was terrified by an old woman who would visit him at night. But his memories of that event were intentionally suppressed. INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 opens up the possibility that Josh was never actually healed – and that the old woman never left.
Wan and Whannell also folded in another, more familiar concept – albeit one seldom seen in the horror genre: time travel. The film ventures 25 years into the past to reveal the sinister events at the root of the evil that is haunting the Lamberts, tying up the unresolved mysteries of the first film and delving deeper inside the dark netherworld known as The Further.
“Because the first film was such a stylized and fantastical world, the time traveling aspect actually fit perfectly into the second film,” Wan says.
The filmmakers used the concept in an original way to bridge both films so that they could be viewed as two parts of a whole. In one instance, they show the back-story of coma-ward patient Parker Crane—a newly introduced character. But instead of using the traditional flashback method, the filmmakers reveal Crane’s troubled past via a journey back through time within The Further—a void-like area beyond time and space.
The film features a collection of nearly 20 ghouls – men and women of all ages and ethnicities who are dead but live on in The Further to torment living souls. In one scene, a group of young female ghouls who were serial-killer victims between 1970 and 1986 terrify Dalton Lambert in his attic bedroom. Some are wrapped in sheets, some in regular clothes, but all of them are dead.
Part of the sequel was filmed in Linda Vista Community Hospital in the Boyle Heights neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles. Originally opened in the 1920s, the hospital has served as a location for countless films, TV shows and music videos since it closed its doors in 1991. In the film, the location serves as Our Lady of Angels Hospital – the place where, in 1986, young Lorraine Lambert works as a nurse and, with her son, has a memorable encounter with Parker Crane.
The hospital is rumored to be haunted in real life, too. During shooting, Wan recalls the crew was moving equipment between floors and one of the grips had a spooky experience while he was standing alone.
“He said he felt a little hand come up and grab and hold his hand,” the director says. “Then he looked down, because thought maybe a bug or something had landed on his hand, but there was nothing there.”
Wan says he was surprised at the challenges making a worthy follow-up to INSIDIOUS presented, but it will be worth it if fans of the original respond positively. “Sequels are usually very hard to do right. I hope the people that loved the first one come back and watch the second one and can see the love that went into making it—that we didn’t just haphazardly throw it together—because we put a lot of thought into it. We just hope they really enjoy it.”
Produced by Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Insidious) and Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity, Insidious), the sequel reteams the cast of the first film, including Patrick Wilson (Hard Candy, Watchmen, Little Children), Rose Byrne (X-Men: First Class, Bridesmaids, 28 Weeks Later), Barbara Hershey (Black Swan, The Portrait of a Lady), Lin Shaye (There’s Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber) and Ty Simpkins (Iron Man 3).
Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, and Lili Taylor star in this first teaser for New Line Cinema’s supernatural thriller THE CONJURING.
Before there was Amityville, there was Harrisville. THE CONJURING tells the true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga), world renowned paranormal investigators, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most horrifying case of their lives.
From the writer of SAW (2004) and director of INSIDIOUS, James Wan is a member of the unofficial “Splat Pack,” a term coined by film historian Alan Jones in Total Film magazine for the modern wave of directors making brutally violent horror films. The other “Splat Pack” members are Alexandre Aja, Darren Lynn Bousman, Neil Marshall, Greg Mclean, Eli Roth, Leigh Whannell & Rob Zombie.
THE CONJURING will be in theaters on July 19th – in between Warner Bros. Pictures other films PACIFIC RIM (July 12) and the hugely anticipated 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE ( August 2)
Why is it that some people never grow up? Unfortunately, I do not have the answer to this question, but it does serve to explain the premise of YOUNG ADULT. This most recent screenplay written by Diablo Cody (JUNO, JENNIFER’S BODY) is directed by Jason Reitman, the man who brought us films including JUNO, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING and UP IN THE AIR.
Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a struggling author of a once popular series of young adult fiction. Think something along the lines of the “Wimpy Kid” series, but for high school girls, rather than Harry Potter or the Twilight series. Mavis is currently writing the last book in her discontinued series, but is experiencing writers block. As an adventure, or more accurately as she sees it, as a calling of fate, Mavis returns home to her small hometown to win back Buddy Slade, played by Patrick Wilson (INSIDIOUS). Buddy was Mavis’ high school sweetheart, but he’s now married with a new born child.
One thing we learn about Mavis early on is that she’s not exactly a role model of being a responsible, well adjusted adult. YOUNG ADULT as a title refers both to the genre of fiction she writes, as well as the state of mind within which Mavis is perpetually stuck. However, when it comes to winning Buddy back, Mavis proves as unstoppable as a Juggernaut. The first person Mavis runs into upon returning home is Matt Freehauf, played by comedian and actor Patton Oswalt (BIG FAN). Matt is what you might easily define as a grown up nerd. He lives with his sister, reassembles and paints action figures as a hobby along side running his own home whiskey distillery. Matt also has an unfortunate handicap, the story of which plays a crucial role in defining his relationship to Mavis.
YOUNG ADULT has Mavis and Matt become the unlikeliest of friends. Matt serves as Mavis’ unwanted and questionably successful conscience, while Mavis serves as the closest Matt will ever get to having something special with the popular, attractive cheerleader type that never occurred in high school. The chemistry between this odd couple is wonderfully awkward, but natural. Both are damaged goods, but Matt realizes and accepts the truth. Mavis fantasizes about what her life is supposed to be versus what it has become, leading her to pursue a self-destructive path of volcanic proportions.
The dialogue is clearly Diablo Cody’s, sharp and quick, but more refined than in JUNO. This is a dark comedy based in ordinary life. The eccentric edge, or the wackiness factor of YOUNG ADULT is also a bit more restrained than we saw in JUNO or THANK YOU FOR SMOKING. Reitman’s direction is continually finding a more “grown up” edge – if you’ll permit the cliché – a shift which began with UP IN THE AIR. While the humor and tone in Reitman’s first two films are more playfully over-the-top, his last two films are more reserved and more focused on specific character development.
YOUNG ADULT also scales back quite a bit on the star factor. Sure, Charlize Theron is a major star and talented to boot – possibly even worthy of an acting nomination come Oscar season – but Patton Oswalt – as much as I love that little funny man – is still a relative unknown for most people outside of the geek culture. Aside from this, Patrick Wilson and a brief role from veteran Mary Beth Hurt, this does not feature the ensemble cast that Reitman’s previous films are known for. YOUNG ADULT is a comedy that may taste slightly bitter on your tongue at first, but given time to savor after seeing the film allows for the sweetness to emerge, as well as the fiery kick of the film’s ending.
Check out the new Japanese poster art and two clips from director Jason Reitman’s YOUNG ADULT.
“DO I KNOW YOU”
“CHECKING IN”
Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.
YOUNG ADULT reunites Jason Reitman, Academy Award® nominated director of JUNO, and Academy Award® winning screenwriter, Diablo Cody.
Watch the first trailer for Jason Reitman’s YOUNG ADULT. Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.
YOUNG ADULT Paramount Pictures and Mandate Pictures Present A Mr. Mudd Production In Association with Right of Way Films and Denver & Delilah Films A Film by Jason Reitman Young Adult Executive Producers Nathan Kahane, John Malkovich, Steven Rales, Helen Estabrook Produced by Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith, Diablo Cody, Mason Novick, Jason Reitman Written by Diablo Cody Directed by Jason Reitman
Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser
The first poster for YOUNG ADULT is here! Check it out and let us know what you think.
“YOUNG ADULT” Paramount Pictures and Mandate Pictures Present A Mr. Mudd Production In Association with Right of Way Films and Denver & Delilah Films A Film by Jason Reitman “Young Adult” Executive Producers Nathan Kahane, John Malkovich, Steven Rales, Helen Estabrook Produced by Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith, Diablo Cody, Mason Novick, Jason Reitman Written by Diablo Cody Directed by Jason Reitman
Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser
Synopsis: Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.
From the director of the SAW series, James Wan, comes this frightening teaser trailer for INSIDIOUS. The film had its premiere at Midnight Madness during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.
Synopsis:
“INSIDIOUS is the terrifying story of a family who shortly after moving discover that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to realize that it was not their house that was haunted.”
Watch at your own peril!! Go ahead…I dare ya.
Want more? Here’s a clip from September 2010 released over on Yahoo! Movies.
Starring Rose Byrne, Patrick Wilson and Barbara Hershey, INSIDIOUS opens on April 1st and is the first release from Graham King’s newly formed FILM DISTRICT company.
