Lionsgate’s 1992, the upcoming action-crime thriller starring Tyrese Gibson and directed by Ariel Vromen (The Iceman) and co-starring Ray Liotta in one of his final film roles, will be released in theaters on August 30, with the legendary hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg boarding the film to executive produce through his Death Row Pictures banner. The announcement was jointly made today by Adam Fogelson, chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, as well as Gibson and Snoop Dogg.
Starring Tyrese Gibson, Clé Bennett, Dylan Arnold, Christopher A’mmanuel, Michael Beasley, Ori Pfeffer, Tosin Morohunfola, Oleg Taktarov, with Scott Eastwood, and Ray Liotta in one of his final film roles, 1992 is directed by Ariel Vromen from a screenplay by Sascha Penn and Ariel Vromen and a story by Sascha Penn. It is produced by Ariel Vromen, Andreas Rommel, Maurice Fadida, Sascha Penn, and Adam Kolbrenner.
In 1992, Mercer (Tyrese Gibson) is desperately trying to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son (Christopher A’mmanuel) amidst the turbulent 1992 LA uprising following the Rodney King verdict. Across town, another father and son (Ray Liotta and Scott Eastwood) put their own strained relationship to the test as they plot a dangerous heist to steal catalytic converters, which contain valuable platinum, from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions rise in Los Angeles and chaos erupts, both families reach their boiling points when they collide in this tense crime-thriller.
Snoop Dogg said, “1992 was a life-changing time for me, from ‘Deep Cover’ to ‘The Chronic.’ But as things in my life were coming together, everything in LA was coming apart. 1992 is a heist movie that really captures all of that. This movie is about an LA moment. Ariel made an outstanding film that depicts this moment in time. From my first encounter with Tyrese in Baby Boy to the performance in 1992, I had to be a part of this. And it’s only fitting that the film come out under Death Row Pictures as Death Row is synonymous with LA culture in the 90’s, ya dig?”
“Snoop is one of the most beloved figures in entertainment and I could not be more thankful that he chose to join our project,” said Gibson. “Ray Liotta blessed all of us in life while doing this film. For 1992 to be Ray’s last offering, we all feel so fortunate to have captured such a masterful and chilling performance.”
(L-R) Director/Co-Writer Ariel Vromen, Ray Liotta as Lowell and Scott Eastwood as Riggin Bigby behind the scenes of the Action, Crime, Thriller film, 1992, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Tyrese Gibson has starred in over 35 feature films, including two of the most successful movie franchises in history. Notably, he is recognized for his signature role as Roman Pearce in Fast & Furious. A six-time GRAMMY Award nominee and RIAA Platinum certified singer/songwriter, Gibson will soon release his highly anticipated double-album “Beautiful Pain.” The album features collaborations with Lenny Kravitz, Kenny G, and David Foster among others.
Here’s your first look at the brand new trailer for Charlie Day’s FOOL’S PARADISE.
The movie stars Charlie Day, Ken Jeong, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Ray Liotta, Jason Sudeikis, Edie Falco, John Malkovich, Common, and Jillian Bell.
A satirical comedy about a down on his luck publicist, who gets his lucky break when he discovers a man recently released from a mental health facility looks just like a method actor who refuses to leave his trailer. With the help of a powerful producer, the publicist helps the man become a huge star, even marrying his beautiful leading lady. Their adventures lead them to cross paths with drunken costars, irreverent unhoused action heroes, unpredictable directors, super-agent, and power-mad moguls. Fame and fortune are not all they’re cracked up to be, and the two men must fight their way back to the things that matter the most.
Written and directed by Charlie Day in his directorial debut, the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” actor stars alongside an all-star comedy cast. Featuring one of the final screen performances of Ray Liotta, the cast includes Ken Jeong, Kate Beckinsale, Oscar® winner Adrien Brody, Jason Sudeikis, Edie Falco, Jason Bateman, Common, Jillian Bell, Dean Norris, Jimmi Simpson, and John Malkovich. The film is produced by John Rickard (“Peacemaker” Rampage), along with Tim Zajaros and Christopher Lemole (The Peanut Butter Falcon, Mudbound), Alex Saks (Red Rocket, The Florida Project), and Rick Dugdale (Zero Contact). The executive producers are Kirk Michael Fellows, Rob Gough, Manu Gargi, and Bob Shapiro.
Roadside Attractions will release FOOL’S PARADISE only in theaters May 12, 2023.
Charlie Day and Adrien Brody in FOOL’S PARADISE / Courtesy of Roadside Attractions
As the forced hibernation of an often (in some parts of the US) ends lots of folks, besides the college kids, are making plans for the big “Spring break”. Aside from hitting the beaches, a good percentage will haul out the camping gear and make their journey into the woods to commune with Mother Nature. Oh, but what if “mama’ is not very welcome, especially those animal residents? These “humans vs. the wild” showdowns have been film thriller fodder for decades with the “king” JAWS, FROGS, NIGHT OF THE GRIZZLY, and DAY OF THE ANIMALS, And you remember how THE REVENANT grabbed a load of Oscars in 2015. Perhaps its most shocking scene pitted the story’s hero against a ferocious bear (the producers tagged as “Judy”). Now she was protecting her cubs, while the title star of this new flick, which is “inspired by true events” has a very different motivating “fuel”. This tale’s forest is truly frightening because it’s the lair of the COCAINE BEAR (sniff)!
This weird bit of recent legend begins in the hard-partying year of 1985 when a drug smuggler tosses dozens of duffel bags full of bars of blow out of his rapidly descending twin-engine plane (gotta’ lighten the load). Oh, but he still crashes in Tennessee, which sends a local narcotics officer on a mission. Bob (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) believes it’s connected to a St. Louis drug kingpin named Syd (Ray Liotta). And he’s right since Syd has assigned his best “muscle” Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and Syd’s depressed son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) to head to Chattahoochee River National Park, home of Blood Mountain, to recover the “merch”. As the cop and the “crew” hit the trail, a good deal of the “product’ has been consumed by a rampaging black bear, about which the locals are clueless. That includes the park’s oblivious ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) and “nature advocate” Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Also in the dark is single mom Sari (Keri Russell), who heads off to her nursing job as her preteen daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) joins her pal, the nervous Henry (Christian Convery) for a day of “hookey” in the nearby park to “paint the rainbow”. Throw in a trio of local toughs (a gang dubbed “The Duchamps”), and that over-medicated ursine predator could enjoy a tasty buffet, once he mellows out (if ever).
As you might’ve guessed, this is pretty much a raucous rowdy farce, which the talented cast fully embraces. However, a couple of the actors also get a chance to flex their dramatic “chops”, especially Russell as the struggling single mom who has to channel her own inner “mama bear’ to find her only child. She conveys the spirit of an average woman suddenly facing down her fears. And then there’s Jackson’s Daveed, who begins to see the despair of his henchman role as he must become a big brother to Ehrenreich’s Eddie, who’s going down for the “third time’ as the grief over his wife’s recent passing suffocates his spirit. Their adversary is the engaging Whitlock as Bob, the low-level cop determined to finally capture his “white whale”, Syd played with grit and gusto parodying his iconic gangster roles by the much missed Liotta in his final film performance. The comic MVP might be Martindale as the gruff, Yosemite Sam-like ranger with a short fuse and an itchy “hair trigger” temper. Ferguson also scores some laughs as the “tree hugger” who is ill-prepared for the full fury of the forest. Kudos also to the comic duo of Kristofer Hivju and Hannah Hoekstra as the Nordic hikers who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time (“Ve are lucky wit’ nature!”). Ditto for the “kids in peril”, Prince as the sassy, smart Dee Dee, and Convery as the “desperate-to-seem-cool” Henry.
With this, her third feature film, actress Elizabeth Banks is proving to be an equally talented director. She keeps the pace brisk, spacing the frantic action sequences with bits of character dialogue, giving us a chance to catch our breath before the beast strikes. Sure, this is almost a live-action cartoon, though closer in spirit to the old EC horror comics (this story would make Dr. Wertham’s eyeglasses shatter) like “Tales From the Crypt”, with several of the characters enduring Wile E. Coyote-style injuries, though they lack his “rejuvenating skills”. However, Banks doesn’t go for the splatter stuff too much, perhaps to make it a bit more “kid friendly” (but it’s really not a family flick). Those audiences jazzed by the high (oops) concept title are getting just what they want, but at around 95 minutes it begins to feel a bit forced. much like an extra-long SNL sketch stretched to feature length (I could almost hear Chevy’s “…land shark.”). Plus there’s a nagging feeling throughout that the producers really want this to be a “super-sized” and big-budget “midnight movie” to inspire a cult (maybe wearing big furs to showings), and trying to be “edgy” (really, ten-year-olds dropping “F-bombs”). But the “core demographic’ will be pleased with the CGI “mo-cap” critters, even as the star gets revived by the “nose candy’ much as Popeye did with the smell of spinach (I’m aging myself). So, if you’re in the mood for a campy horror comedy, the best “pick-me-up” may be the chemically chaotic COCAINE BEAR (so he snorts and s*#ts in the woods).
2.5 Out of 4
COCAINE BEAR is now playing in theatres everywhere
Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood.
Cocaine Bear stars Keri Russell (The Americans), O’Shea Jackson, Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (BlacKkKlansman), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Hannah Hoekstra (2019’s Charlie’s Angels) and Aaron Holliday (Sharp Objects), with with Emmy winner Margo Martindale (The Americans) and Emmy winner Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark).
Directed by Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels, Pitch Perfect 2) from a screenplay by Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen), Cocaine Bear is produced by Oscar® winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. The Machines) for Lord Miller, Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect franchise) and Max Handelman (Pitch Perfect franchise) for Brownstone Productions, Brian Duffield (Spontaneous) for Jurassic Party Productions and Aditya Sood (The Martian) for Lord Miller. The film is executive produced by Robin Mulcahy Fisichella, Alison Small and Nikki Baida.
On a rampage for blow and blood. Meet COCAINE BEAR.
Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood.
COCAINE BEAR stars Keri Russell (The Americans), O’Shea Jackson, Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Christian Convery-Jennings (Sweet Tooth), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (BlacKkKlansman), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Hannah Hoekstra (2019’s Charlie’s Angels) and Aaron Holliday (Sharp Objects), with with Emmy winner Margo Martindale (The Americans) and Emmy winner Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark).
Check out the trailer now!
Directed by Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels, Pitch Perfect 2) from a screenplay by Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen), Cocaine Bear is produced by Oscar® winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. The Machines) for Lord Miller, Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect franchise) and Max Handelman (Pitch Perfect franchise) for Brownstone Productions, Brian Duffield (Spontaneous) for Jurassic Party Productions and Aditya Sood (The Martian) for Lord Miller. The film is executive produced by Robin Mulcahy Fisichella, Alison Small and Nikki Baida.
(L-r) BILLY MAGNUSSEN as Paulie Walnuts, JON BERNTHAL as Johnny Soprano, COREY STOLL as Junior Soprano (in back), JOHN MAGARO as Silvio Dante, RAY LIOTTA as “Hollywood Dick” Moltisanti and ALESSANDRO NIVOLA as Dickie Moltisanti in New Line Cinema and Home Box Office’s “THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo credit: Barry Wetcher / Warner Bros. Courtesy of Warner Brothers Studios
The highly-anticipated “Sopranos” prequel THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK finally arrives in theaters and proves that it was worth the long wait. “The Sopranos” was the influential, award-winning television series that likely started the binge-watching phenomenon, but one of the nice things about this mobster drama is that there is no need to be a fan of the long-running series, or even to have seen a single episode, to fully enjoy this film and be drawn into its well-rounded world and thrilled by its surprise-around-every corner plot. There is plenty here for any fan of mobster movies or twisty thrillers generally. But if you are a Sopranos fan, there are plenty of extra thrills in seeing characters only talked about in the series or younger versions of favorites like Paulie Walnuts and Silvio Dante, and discovering how New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano and his world came to be.
Focusing on the Soprano-Moltisanti branch of New Jersey’s DiMeo crime family, the film gives an introduction to the world of “The Sopranos” and every major figure from the series at an earlier time. However, if you are a Sopranos fan expecting this film to deliver you right to the doorstep of Tony’s home, with the late James Gandolfini as the grown mob boss trundling out in his robe to get the morning paper, this ain’t it. The story ends with Tony still young but with a brilliant script by series creator David Chase and Lawrence Konner and strong direction by Alan Taylor (whose work included episodes of The Sopranos and Game of Thrones), THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK has creator David Chase’s fingerprints all over it and fully sets up how Tony Soprano and his world came to be, setting the stage for that iconic shot that opened every show but with room to fill in more details.
Set in the turbulent late ’60s and early ’70s in Newark, New Jersey, the story incorporates real historical events, as rival gangs challenge the powerful DiMeo crime family and racial tensions and changing times rock the city of Newark. The film’s striking cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau brings the turbulent times to life, while production designer Bob Shaw (who was with “The Sopranos” for five seasons), effectively recreates the period and the feel of the Sopranos’ world.
THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK introduces us to 11-year-old Anthony Soprano (William Ludwig) and then 16-year-old Tony Soprano (Michael Gandolfini, son of the late Sopranos star). But the young Tony is less the central figure in this tale than his Uncle Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), who was the unseen, but often spoken of, mentor to crime boss Tony’s in the series, as well as the evolution of this world into the world of the Sopranos series. Although young Tony Soprano is in the opening scene, the narration that introduces it comes not from him but from an unseen Christopher Moltisanti, Uncle Dickie’s not-yet-born son. Dickie isn’t really Tony’s uncle but a close friend of Tony’s father and a fellow member of the DiMeo crime family. Dickie, also known as “Gentleman Dick” for his nice manners and smooth style, is a father figure to young Tony while his father Johnny Soprano (Jon Bernthal) is in prison, also serving as Tony’s role model with the approval of Tony’s mother Livia (Vera Farmiga). Dickie’s own father, “Hollywood Dick” Moltisanti (Ray Liotta), a crime boss who once rubbed elbows with stars, has stepped back from running things, turning them over to Dickie. But his hot-tempered father still brings lots of stress to Dickie, after he and his new young Italian wife Giuseppina (Michela De Rossi) move into a shared duplex with his son and his family.
You might wonder who the “saints” are in this crime tale. Moltisanti means “many saints” in Italian but it is not the only reference the film slyly reveals throughout. The first of these “saints” are a street gang of Black youths named the Black Saints, who are stepping on the toes of this established Italian American crime syndicate in Newark. To deal with them, Dickie has brought in childhood friend and former high school football team mate Harold McBrayer (Leslie Odom Jr) to deal with one particularly bold Black Saint. Harold and Dickie are friends but Harold does not find a warm welcome from the rest of Dickie’s Italian American crime family. Both Harold and Dickie are ambitions but circumstances of the times are frustrating Harold’s ambitions.
THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK is an ensemble film that blends many story lines as it weaves a picture of its times and the world young Tony Soprano is growing up in. Yet, the film is very cohesive, never losing us as it brings the various thread together, thanks to the well-crafted script. We are kept on the edge of our seats by every unseen turn in the plot but the film effectively mixes family drama and psychological character studies with crime film action and violence.
The crime family is on the verge of change and all their maneuvering is set against the changes and upheaval of Newark in the 1960s, particularly the race riots of the summer of 1967. The time period allows the introduction of a subplot about Harold McBrayer, played marvelously by Leslie Odom Jr., and an emerging Black crime syndicate. Early on, McBrayer’s experience with the Italian Americans parallels the path of Jewish and Irish mobsters in an earlier era, but the changing social and racial landscape alters that path and deepen the story.
Racial tensions are a big part of the story, not just historical backdrop, and some pivotal scenes take place during the summer 1967 Newark riots, which set large parts of the city aflame. In 1967, Newark is undergoing changes, as migration from the South brings increasing numbers of Black people into its working-class Central and North Wards, neighborhoods once dominated by Italian immigrants, cause clashes. The summer of 1967, the Summer of Love, sees the explosion of race riots, setting large portions of the city on fire, as changing times roil this branch of the DiMeo crime family.
Like the original show, the casting is superb, the characters striking, and the clever script provides drama, humor and mob thrills in satisfying measures. As Dickie Moltisanti, Alessandro Nivola is superb as a man torn by maintaining the smooth veneer of his family persona and coping with burning ambitions to discover his own path. All the characters in this tale are complex and multi-layered, chief among them this central one. Leslie Odom Jr has the character, Harold, who undergoes perhaps the greatest shift, and Odom handles the role masterfully.
Two of the most pivotal roles go to Ray Liotta, who plays both boss “Hollywood Dick” Moltisanti, a flashy, egotistical character with a short fuse, and his imprisoned brother Salvatore “Sally” Moltisanti, a looming figure who has embraced jazz, Buddhism and honesty in prison while still maintaining the requisite mob silence. A standout on the comedic side is John Magaro as the younger balding consiglieri Silvio Dante (played memorably in the original by Steven Van Zandt) – before the wig. The gifted John Magaro (who really should have been nominated for an Oscar for his moving performance as Cookie in last year’s unjustly-overlooked FIRST COW) is both delightful and unrecognizable in this role, capturing Silvio’s vanity and distinctive mannerisms while missing none of his underlying menace.
A standout on the drama, and psychological, side is Vera Farmiga’s performance as Tony’s troubled mother Livia, a role played so masterfully by Nancy Marchand in the original and matched here in intensity by Farmiga. Corey Stoll likewise shines as Junior, a character we meet in his dotage in the series but here a conniving striver with a penchant for accidents. Tony’s associates Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri, played by Billy Magnussen and Sal “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, played by Samson Moeakiola in his screen debut, are also well-drawn and help craft that evolving Soprano world. Italian actress Michela De Rossi plays Hollywood Dick’s much younger Italian trophy wife, a figure that evokes thoughts of THE GODFATHER in a different form.
Shot on location in New Jersey and New York, the film also perfectly captures the period look and feel, with portions of Patterson and other New Jersey towns along with areas of the Bronx, Yonkers and other parts of New York standing in for an earlier Newark. While the mobsters are playing out their operatic dealings, the landscape around them is in flames. The camera work is breathtaking and the framing of the crime family dealings against the historic backdrop is stunningly jarring. All the costumes and props are properly vintage but so are the mannerisms, the racist undercurrents, and sense of seismic shift at work. Period music individually suited to each character compliments each scene.
Whether you are a fan of The Sopranos or never saw an episode, THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK delivers as a satisfying experience, a crime tale set in a volatile period, packed with depth, striking characters, drama and action, sprinkled with sly humor and crackling dialog.
THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK opens Friday, Oct. 1, in theaters nationally.
Legends aren’t born. They’re made. A prequel to The Sopranos, watch the new trailer for THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK.
The film is slated for release in theaters nationwide on September 24, 2021 and will be available in the U.S. on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release. It is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and has been rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexual content and some nudity.
New Line Cinema’s “The Many Saints of Newark” is the much-anticipated feature film prequel to David Chase’s groundbreaking, award-winning HBO drama series “The Sopranos.” Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark’s history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters begin to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family’s hold over the increasingly race-torn city. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti, who struggles to manage both his professional and personal responsibilities—and whose influence over his nephew will help make the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss we’ll later come to know: Tony Soprano.
“The Many Saints of Newark” stars Alessandro Nivola (“Disobedience,” “American Hustle”), Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. (Broadway’s “Hamilton,” “Murder on the Orient Express”), Jon Bernthal (“Baby Driver,” “The Wolf of Wall Street”), Corey Stoll (“First Man,” “Ant-Man”), Michael Gandolfini (TV’s “The Deuce”), Billy Magnussen (“Game Night,” “The Big Short”), Michela De Rossi (“Boys Cry,” TV’s “The Rats”), John Magaro (“The Finest Hours,” “Not Fade Away”), with Emmy winner Ray Liotta (TV’s “Shades of Blue,” “Goodfellas”) and Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air,” “The Conjuring” films).
Alan Taylor (“Thor: The Dark World”), who won an Emmy for his directing work on “The Sopranos,” is helming the film from a screenplay by series creator David Chase & Lawrence Konner, based on characters created by Chase. Chase, Konner and Nicole Lambert are producing the film, with Michael Disco, Marcus Viscidi, Toby Emmerich and Richard Brener serving as executive producers.
Taylor’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Kramer Morgenthau (“Creed II,” “Thor: The Dark World”), production designer Bob Shaw (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Sopranos”), Oscar-nominated editor Christopher Tellefsen (“Moneyball,” “A Quiet Place”) and costume designer Amy Westcott (“The Wrestler,” “Black Swan”).
“The Many Saints of Newark” was shot on location in New Jersey and New York, and several beloved characters from the original series that inspired the film are featured in the movie. During its six-season run, “The Sopranos”—widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential television drama series of all time—was honored with 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and two Peabody Awards, to name only a portion.
Ah, this film’s poster promises the adored end result of many a typical “rom-com’, or even a full-fledged “hearts and flowers” love story (with part of that in the title itself). There are two “A” list actors (each part of major “tentpole” franchises) happily nuzzling each other while an adorable child (perhaps the product of their screen coupling) seems to be giggling in the photo’s lower half. But looks, along with movie “ballyhoo” can be most deceiving. Especially with one of our most acclaimed “indie” writer/directors is given the big credit above the title. Just what is his “take” on the institution in this very modern MARRIAGE STORY?
Said story certainly begins on an uplifting note as we’re dropped right in the middle of two montages that deliver “warm fuzzies” that most greeting card commercials try to elicit. Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) narrates the snippets that support her remarks concerning the strengths of Charlie (Adam Driver) as husband and father, followed by his singing (well speaking) of her praises. And where is this “admiration society” meeting taking place? Well, it’s the office of a marriage “mediator”, because these two are separating. Nicole storms out, loudly proclaiming these lists are bull…um…nonsense. They try to go back to their jobs, which is tough since they work together. She’s part of an avant-guard off, off-Broadway theatre troupe and he’s the founder/director. Nicole makes it clear that after the production opens and is “on its feet” she plans to return to LA with their nine-year-old son Henry (Azhy Robertson). Her mother (Julie Hagerty) and sister (Merritt Wever) live out there so they can help with Henry while she tries to return to movies or TV (prior to NYC she starred in a hit teen comedy flick). At the suggestion of some new industry friends, Nicole talks to, and soon hires, high-profile family attorney Nora (Laura Dern) to work on the divorce and the custody agreement. When Charlie flies out for a visit, he’s blindsided by her news (“I thought we were leaving out the lawyers”). After a brutal meeting with legal “pit bull” Jay (Ray Liotta), Charlie finally finds a lawyer Nicole hadn’t contacted, a semi-retired entertainment attorney now family lawyer Bert Spitz (Alan Alda). As Charlie attempts to establish a California residence while flying back and forth to NYC (his new play may be headed uptown), he and Nicole realize that their marriage can’t be saved, but, for the sake of Henry, will they still be able to remain a family?
This is a film filled to the brim with superb performance, with Ms. Johansson delivering perhaps the best dramatic work of her twenty-plus years in movies. For about the last half of that time she has mainly bounced from “rom-com” heroine to SF/fantasy femme fatale (we’ll get to see her Marvel work one more time in this May’s Black Widow prequel), however she goes through the full range of emotions as the often conflicted, eventually determined Nicole. At first, she seems to be a cliche “flighty” actress, rejecting counseling, and discarding her family over career ambitions. Then there’s her riveting revealing confessional to her possible lawyer Nora. It’s a powerhouse one-take “no cuts” several-minute monologue in which she truly “bares all”, going from being an exposed “raw nerve” to focused “crusader”, liberated by finally giving voice to her frustrations and disappointments. We get another sample of her considerable skills much later as she goes “toe to toe” in another long dialogue (like a mini two-act play) with the equally talented Driver. His character Charlie changes as well, starting as the victim, a “good dad” “sucker-punched” until we see his often stubborn selfish nature as his artistic goals are nearly smothering his partner. Driver also puts a fresh spin on the “fish out of water” riffing on the East-Coaster aghast at the shallow trappings of “La La Land”. At times he’s a clueless lost traveler in a confusing tangle legal web. He’s pretty funny too, as he fails to predict his son’s impulses and especially when a sight gag goes terribly wrong. Also bringing the funny, Hagerty as Nicole ditzy mother (she doesn’t understand that she can’t remain pals with her kids’ exes), Wever as the jittery, flustered sister (she ‘s gotta’ serve “papers” to Charlie), and Wallace Shawn as the most senior member of Charlie’s acting troupe (look at the faces of his much younger costars as he repeats another story about his “glory days”). And of course, there’s comedy icon Alda whose mild-mannered Bert is almost eaten alive by the legal sharks led by the formidable Dern who is truly a barracuda in high heels, in one great scene she roars back at society’s double standards that shackle her gender. Equally fearsome on the flip side is Liotta whose Jay is pure macho swagger in a thousand-dollar tailored suit.
Noah Baumbach expertly brings his moving, unpredictable script to vivid life with no false steps or cardboard villains. Though they’re battling in the courtrooms, Nicole and Charlie still share moments of kindness and compassion, all for the best of reasons, namely the well-being of son Henry. Though they clash there’s still the underlying respect so that Henry never hears a “burn” from one parent about the other. There’s no flashy camerawork, though Baumbach knows just when to cut in for a telling look or glance. But his biggest strength is as a guide to the cast through the emotional minefield of a disintegrating relationship. Everything is real with no easy fixes or reconciliations. It’s the end of a romance, but the partnership begins to morph into something else. In that way, the tale of these two (three really) is actually hopefull. Though often unbearably raw, MARRIAGE STORY is an uplifting modern ode to a family’s resilience.
3.5 Out of 4
MARRIAGE STORY opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre
“One day some of the kids from the neighborhood carried my mother’s groceries all the way home. You know why? It was outta respect.” GOODFELLAS plays midnights this weekend (September 22nd and 23rd) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series. Admission is $8.
Martin Scorsese’s GOODFELLAS is 27 years old, but I don’t think there’s been a better mob movie since. This movie does a terrific job showing the flash and allure of being a successful mobster (the cash, the respect, the twisted sense of family) and then the dark and dirty side – the graft, lies and ferocity. Ray Liotta’s fall is as rough as his rise is seductively entertaining (think SCARFACE, only a whole lot better) and it’s punctuated by brutal acts of violence.
Overall, a great movie; features an immersive soundtrack, half the supporting cast of The Sopranos, and Lorraine Bracco, who just radiates sassy broad. And lest I forget: Joe Pesci, whose savage hothead character lends this movie its dark humor. He moves from butcher’s knife to gun (several) to ice pick and it’s always somehow funny (Whaddya mean I’m funny?“). He lights up the screen in this movie; it’s an amazing performance.
Tivoli midnights show coming up:
Sept. 29-30SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD
Oct. 6-7POLTERGEIST (1980)
Oct. 13-14RE-ANIMATOR
Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with live shadow cast, Samurai Electricians!
All tickets $10
Reel Late at the Tivoli takes place every Friday and Saturday night and We Are Movie Geeks own Tom Stockman (that’s me!) is there with custom trivia questions about the films and always has DVDs, posters, and other cool stuff to give away. Ticket prices are $8. We hope to see everyone late at night in the coming weeks.
“You were right. I’m a rebel. I am! I just channeled my rebellion into the mainstream.”
SOMETHING WILD screens Friday, June 23rd at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). This is the fifth film in their ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’ The movie starts at 8:00pm.
Director Jonathan Demme’s SOMETHING WILD (1986) more than lives up to its title. This rolicking, road trip melodrama about coincidences and happenstances features a slippery-fingered bohemian babe, a staid businessman, and a psychotic criminal on the lam. Charlie Driggs (Jeff Daniels) neglects to pay his bill one day, and a complete stranger, Lulu (Melanie Griffith) confronts him about it outside of the restaurant. Afterward, Lulu takes the hopelessly conventional Charlie on a wild ride that concludes with her handcuffing him to a bed in a sleazy motel and tearing off his clothes. Impulse prompts them to careen off with Charlie still wearing the cuffs. Eventually, they collide with Lulu’s ex, a sadistic, uninhibited parolee, Ray Sinclair (Ray Liotta) who epitomizes recklessness.
The first half of the action depicts the lunacy of Charlie and Lulu right down to an impromptu meeting with Lulu’s mother, while the second half waxes conventional with Ray and his criminal exploits. Liotta steals the show with an electrifying performance as an unhinged, gun-toting, ex-convict on parole. He is a force to be reckoned with and shows no qualms of giving into his violent urges. Ray makes a hypnotic villain and the confrontation between Charlie and he at the former’s suburban residence will have you screaming for Ray’s death (or maybe Charlies). The thing about SOMETHING WILD is its unpredictable passion. You don’t have any idea where it is going, even when it turns formulaic during its second half. Having Melanie Griffith running around naked the whole movie doesn’t hurt, but even on that note there’s a weird realistic edge to all the sexuality in the film. It’s unbelievably sexy without being dirty, cliché’, or overdone. So revisit this little gem when it screens Friday night at Webster University.
Admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty
Free for Webster students with proper I.D.
Here’s the rest of the line-up for the other films that will be part of the ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’: 6/24 – Married to the Mob (1988) 6/30 – The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 7/1 – Philadelphia (1993)
