Guy Maddin’s sophomore feature, Archangel, takes place in a fantastical crossroads of history, in a hamlet in Russia so remote that the twin shocks of World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution have only just reached town limits in 1919. Its plot—of a love triangle between a traumatized WWI veteran (Kyle McCulloch), the woman (Kathy Marykuca) he believes is his dead wife, and her own amnesiac husband (Ari Cohen)—offers something of a précis of narrative tropes and themes that would pervade Maddin’s cinema. There’s the juxtaposition of archaic film form with more risqué sexual exhibition, the slipperiness of memory, and a notion of projection heavily indebted to Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.
Nonetheless, Archangel feels more like a repository of references to the cinema of a hundred years ago than something fully imbued with Maddin’s signature idiosyncrasy. Verohnka, for one, habitually wears a spiky, chintzy crown...
Nonetheless, Archangel feels more like a repository of references to the cinema of a hundred years ago than something fully imbued with Maddin’s signature idiosyncrasy. Verohnka, for one, habitually wears a spiky, chintzy crown...
- 3/11/2024
- by Jake Cole
- Slant Magazine
Guy Maddin’s 1988 feature directorial debut, Tales from the Gimli Hospital, finds the Canadian auteur’s delightfully perverse sensibilities already fully formed. Given the film’s mix of surreal black-and-white imagery, subversive sexuality, and offbeat comedy, as well as its success on the midnight movie circuit, the comparisons to David Lynch’s Eraserhead were inevitable. And yet, anyone who’s seen even a single one of Maddin’s later work can instantly tell that this film couldn’t have sprung from the subconscious of any other filmmaker.
Maddin’s obsession with obscure Canadian folklore is evident right from the get-go, with a title card informing the audience about the 1865 eruption of Askja, a quiescent volcano, that caused many Icelanders to immigrate to Gimli, a small town in Manitoba, Canada. What follows is, like many of the directors other films, a deliriously playful fusion of fact and fiction, with each “historical...
Maddin’s obsession with obscure Canadian folklore is evident right from the get-go, with a title card informing the audience about the 1865 eruption of Askja, a quiescent volcano, that caused many Icelanders to immigrate to Gimli, a small town in Manitoba, Canada. What follows is, like many of the directors other films, a deliriously playful fusion of fact and fiction, with each “historical...
- 6/27/2023
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
Millennials and Gen-Zers, say goodbye to the David Hasselhoff “SpongeBob” cameos of your childhood. According to the “Sponge on the Run” trailer, Keanu Reeves, or rather his floating head, will make an appearance in the upcoming film premiering May 22, 2020.
The latest film in the SpongeBob franchise follows the yellow sponged hero and his friend Patrick as they set off on the road in their search to find SpongeBob’s lost snail Gary.
“Call me Sage. I’m made of sage and I am a sage, so it works out pretty well,” Reeves says to the duo, to which the affable but not-so-smart companion responds by saying, “I’m Patrick, my name means ‘toaster’ in Celtic.”
Along with an updated Patty-mobile, the trailer also shows SpongeBob and Patrick falling prey to ice cream, churros, cotton candy and the dangers of gambling after stumbling upon the lost city of Atlantic City.
The...
The latest film in the SpongeBob franchise follows the yellow sponged hero and his friend Patrick as they set off on the road in their search to find SpongeBob’s lost snail Gary.
“Call me Sage. I’m made of sage and I am a sage, so it works out pretty well,” Reeves says to the duo, to which the affable but not-so-smart companion responds by saying, “I’m Patrick, my name means ‘toaster’ in Celtic.”
Along with an updated Patty-mobile, the trailer also shows SpongeBob and Patrick falling prey to ice cream, churros, cotton candy and the dangers of gambling after stumbling upon the lost city of Atlantic City.
The...
- 11/14/2019
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
The summer movie season has arrived — bringing with it the usual panoply of blockbusters, spectacular action and eye-popping visual effects. And, as always, supporting this groundswell of big-budget extravaganzas, such as this year’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” is the specialized work of thousands of highly skilled visual effects artists and technicians.
But somewhat counterintuitively, even though many of these films are breaking box office records, the effects houses that create this magic are struggling.
“It’s an incredibly competitive industry,” explains Kelly Port, a visual effects supervisor at VFX house Digital Domain, who worked on “Infinity War.” “For as much money that’s spent on visual effects, it’s an incredibly low-margin business.”
That’s partly because state-of-the-art effects work is hugely labor-intensive; it can take a massive crew eight months to a year of full-time work to finish one film. Such a large...
But somewhat counterintuitively, even though many of these films are breaking box office records, the effects houses that create this magic are struggling.
“It’s an incredibly competitive industry,” explains Kelly Port, a visual effects supervisor at VFX house Digital Domain, who worked on “Infinity War.” “For as much money that’s spent on visual effects, it’s an incredibly low-margin business.”
That’s partly because state-of-the-art effects work is hugely labor-intensive; it can take a massive crew eight months to a year of full-time work to finish one film. Such a large...
- 5/30/2018
- by Calum Marsh
- Variety Film + TV
Today was a busy day for some of the smaller guilds with the Visual Effects Society, the Cinema Audio Society, and the Makeup and Hairstylists Guilds all announcing their nominations for 2013.
First, we have the Ves, whose main category to look at is “Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture,” where we find Gravity and four other nominees that are just going to have to be happy with the fact that they got nominated. This is perhaps the easiest category to call in the entirety of awards season, and I don’t mean just here, but for the Oscar as well (Last year’s winner, Life of Pi, easily took this category before going on to claim the Oscar). It’s true that films like The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Star Trek Into Darkness had outstanding effects as well, but nothing even came close to the amazing,...
First, we have the Ves, whose main category to look at is “Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture,” where we find Gravity and four other nominees that are just going to have to be happy with the fact that they got nominated. This is perhaps the easiest category to call in the entirety of awards season, and I don’t mean just here, but for the Oscar as well (Last year’s winner, Life of Pi, easily took this category before going on to claim the Oscar). It’s true that films like The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Star Trek Into Darkness had outstanding effects as well, but nothing even came close to the amazing,...
- 1/15/2014
- by Jeff Beck
- We Got This Covered
"Whispers that the latest from Winnipeg's favourite son had been rebuffed at European festivals before landing on Toronto's doorstep engender a suspicion towards it, as if it's typically Maddinesque gestures were just that: typical, tired, by the numbers." John Semley in Cinema Scope: "Granted, Maddin is once again working through his favorite hang-ups here: memory, family, and odes to forgotten film genres so consigned to oblivion that they never existed at all (in this case the Joycean gangster-haunted house picture). But Maddin finds new footing here, and his best leading man since Careful's Kyle McCulloch in Jason Patric, whose classic, rock-jawed good looks and tendency to play the silliness and surrealism totally straight, as if he's just happy for the job, make Keyhole feel like considerably more than another exercise in Maddinalia."
James Rocchi for the Playlist: "Maddin's usual fondness for the (soap) operatic and the melodramatic are both in play here,...
James Rocchi for the Playlist: "Maddin's usual fondness for the (soap) operatic and the melodramatic are both in play here,...
- 9/12/2011
- MUBI
Start: 07/22/2010 End: 07/25/2010 Start: 07/22/2010 End: 07/25/2010
Are you going to Comic-Con in San Diego? Don't miss these panels about chicks in sci-fi, horror, and fantasy.
Thursday, July 22
1:00-2:00 Spotlight on Charlaine Harris— Author and Comic-Con special guest Charlaine Harris gathered a huge fan base with her novels and stories featuring her characters mystery-solving librarian Aurora Teagarden; Shakespeare, Arkansas resident Lily Bard; and the telepathic barmaid who befriends vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, Sookie Stackhouse. Once Sookie and company moved to the small screen with HBO's True Blood, Harris entered the superstar realm. Be a part of the very first Spotlight panel devoted to Charlaine and hear what she has to say about what comes next for Sookie and everyone else! Room 6Bcf
3:00-4:00 Spotlight on Jenette Kahn— For 27 years Comic-Con special guest Jenette Kahn steered the course for DC Comics as its president and publisher, the...
Are you going to Comic-Con in San Diego? Don't miss these panels about chicks in sci-fi, horror, and fantasy.
Thursday, July 22
1:00-2:00 Spotlight on Charlaine Harris— Author and Comic-Con special guest Charlaine Harris gathered a huge fan base with her novels and stories featuring her characters mystery-solving librarian Aurora Teagarden; Shakespeare, Arkansas resident Lily Bard; and the telepathic barmaid who befriends vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, Sookie Stackhouse. Once Sookie and company moved to the small screen with HBO's True Blood, Harris entered the superstar realm. Be a part of the very first Spotlight panel devoted to Charlaine and hear what she has to say about what comes next for Sookie and everyone else! Room 6Bcf
3:00-4:00 Spotlight on Jenette Kahn— For 27 years Comic-Con special guest Jenette Kahn steered the course for DC Comics as its president and publisher, the...
- 7/20/2010
- by Superheidi
- Planet Fury
Friday's schedule has just gone up for the 2010 Comic-Con at San Diego. As was the case with yesterday's breakdown, I'm focusing on film/TV/DVD related events, screenings and panels.
Read about Thursday's line-up of events.
10:00-11:00 Comedy Central: Ugly Americans— David M. Stern (showrunner and executive producer), Dan Powell (executive producer), Jeff Poliquin (supervising producer), Devin Clark (producer and series creator), Aaron Augenblick (director of animation), Matt Oberg (voice of Mark Lilly), Kurt Metzger (voice of Randall Skeffington), and Randy Pearlstein (voice of Leonard) take you behind the scenes at this animated series sensation. Featuring a sneak peek of the new season, Q&A, and more. One audience member selected will be drawn into an upcoming episode! Room 25Abc
10:15-11:15 Aloha, Earth!— Lost castaway found! Battlestar Cylon becomes human! Star Trek writers return from space! A supernatural force has drawn some of sci-fi's giants...
Read about Thursday's line-up of events.
10:00-11:00 Comedy Central: Ugly Americans— David M. Stern (showrunner and executive producer), Dan Powell (executive producer), Jeff Poliquin (supervising producer), Devin Clark (producer and series creator), Aaron Augenblick (director of animation), Matt Oberg (voice of Mark Lilly), Kurt Metzger (voice of Randall Skeffington), and Randy Pearlstein (voice of Leonard) take you behind the scenes at this animated series sensation. Featuring a sneak peek of the new season, Q&A, and more. One audience member selected will be drawn into an upcoming episode! Room 25Abc
10:15-11:15 Aloha, Earth!— Lost castaway found! Battlestar Cylon becomes human! Star Trek writers return from space! A supernatural force has drawn some of sci-fi's giants...
- 7/9/2010
- by Patrick Sauriol
- Corona's Coming Attractions
Hey Gang! Comic-Con International has released the full schedule for Friday July 23rd and its another full day crazy awesomeness!
Friday is traditionally known as Star Wars day at the convention. This year feature 6 Special Programs featuring official news, announcements and more from the Star Wars universe. There is also the classic march of the Stormtroopers which is always cool.
I honestly don't know how were going to cover everything we want to, but we will find away! We did it last year! I've hilighted all of the events and panels that we are looking forward to seeing. So check out the full schedule below and start planning out your epic Friday at Comic-Con!
Friday, July 23
Last changed: Fri, Jul 9, 11:26am
10:00-11:00 DC Talent Search 2— DC's editorial art director Mark Chiarello presents an informative orientation session that will explain how DC's Talent Search works and discuss the different needs of DC Universe,...
Friday is traditionally known as Star Wars day at the convention. This year feature 6 Special Programs featuring official news, announcements and more from the Star Wars universe. There is also the classic march of the Stormtroopers which is always cool.
I honestly don't know how were going to cover everything we want to, but we will find away! We did it last year! I've hilighted all of the events and panels that we are looking forward to seeing. So check out the full schedule below and start planning out your epic Friday at Comic-Con!
Friday, July 23
Last changed: Fri, Jul 9, 11:26am
10:00-11:00 DC Talent Search 2— DC's editorial art director Mark Chiarello presents an informative orientation session that will explain how DC's Talent Search works and discuss the different needs of DC Universe,...
- 7/9/2010
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Here are the movie and TV highlights
The San Diego Comic-Con has posted the schedule for Friday, July 23. You can view the full schedule here, but below are the movie and TV events that ComingSoon.net/SuperHeroHype/ShockTillYouDrop.com will be concentrating on.
Friday, July 23
10:00-11:00 Comedy Central: Ugly Americans— David M. Stern (showrunner and executive producer), Dan Powell (executive producer), Jeff Poliquin (supervising producer), Devin Clark (producer and series creator), Aaron Augenblick (director of animation), Matt Oberg (voice of Mark Lilly), Kurt Metzger (voice of Randall Skeffington), and Randy Pearlstein (voice of Leonard) take you behind the scenes at this animated series sensation. Featuring a sneak peek of the new season, Q&A, and more. One audience member selected will be drawn into an upcoming episode! Room 25Abc
10:15-11:15 Aloha, Earth!— Lost castaway found! Battlestar Cylon becomes human! Star Trek writers return from space!
The San Diego Comic-Con has posted the schedule for Friday, July 23. You can view the full schedule here, but below are the movie and TV events that ComingSoon.net/SuperHeroHype/ShockTillYouDrop.com will be concentrating on.
Friday, July 23
10:00-11:00 Comedy Central: Ugly Americans— David M. Stern (showrunner and executive producer), Dan Powell (executive producer), Jeff Poliquin (supervising producer), Devin Clark (producer and series creator), Aaron Augenblick (director of animation), Matt Oberg (voice of Mark Lilly), Kurt Metzger (voice of Randall Skeffington), and Randy Pearlstein (voice of Leonard) take you behind the scenes at this animated series sensation. Featuring a sneak peek of the new season, Q&A, and more. One audience member selected will be drawn into an upcoming episode! Room 25Abc
10:15-11:15 Aloha, Earth!— Lost castaway found! Battlestar Cylon becomes human! Star Trek writers return from space!
- 7/9/2010
- by editor@comingsoon.net (SuperHeroHype)
- Superherohype
We've already posted a few updates about which shows will be appearing at Comic Con (check here for the latest one) and today Fox has released their official schedule, including the dates and times of panels, confirmed which shows will be appearing, and even giving us a taste of which stars will be on hand to participate.
Check out the full schedule for Fox's shows below and keep checking back for more information about the other networks.
Friday, July 23
11:00-12:00 Bob’s Burgers. Creator/Executive Producer Loren Bouchard (Home Movies) and Jim Dauterive (King of the Hill) will be on hand to introduce animation fans to their hilarious new series premiering on Fox in January 2011. There will be a screening of never-before-seen footage followed by a Q&A in Room 25Abc.
12:00 – 1:00 Neighbors From Hell. Executive Producers Pam Brady (South Park) and Mireille Soria (Madagascar) screen a...
Check out the full schedule for Fox's shows below and keep checking back for more information about the other networks.
Friday, July 23
11:00-12:00 Bob’s Burgers. Creator/Executive Producer Loren Bouchard (Home Movies) and Jim Dauterive (King of the Hill) will be on hand to introduce animation fans to their hilarious new series premiering on Fox in January 2011. There will be a screening of never-before-seen footage followed by a Q&A in Room 25Abc.
12:00 – 1:00 Neighbors From Hell. Executive Producers Pam Brady (South Park) and Mireille Soria (Madagascar) screen a...
- 6/22/2010
- by Clarissa
- TVovermind.com
As if it weren’t already hot enough outside, you television is about to become host to TBS’s “Neighbors from Hell” that premieres tonight. This animated series is follows the Hellman family as they are sent to earth to save Hell from human beings. Comedy ensues as they learn how to live amongst humans. This animated series stars the voices of Molly Shannon, Patton Oswalt, Will Sasso, Tracey Fairaway, David Soren, and Kyle McCulloch. Check out the synopsis, trailer, and behind-the-scenes look below:
Synopsis for “Neighbors from Hell”
When Satan learns that Petromundo, a huge global conglomerate, has created a super-drill that could potentially burrow to the center of the earth and expose Hell, he sends one of his demons to eliminate the problem. The demon is Balthazor, a good-natured, low-level torturer who has amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of the human condition thanks to his love of classic TV sitcoms.
Synopsis for “Neighbors from Hell”
When Satan learns that Petromundo, a huge global conglomerate, has created a super-drill that could potentially burrow to the center of the earth and expose Hell, he sends one of his demons to eliminate the problem. The demon is Balthazor, a good-natured, low-level torturer who has amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of the human condition thanks to his love of classic TV sitcoms.
- 6/7/2010
- by Lillian 'zenbitch' Standefer
- ScifiMafia
Chicago – Coming from the punishing fires has never been wackier in the new animated TV series from TBS, “Neighbors From Hell.” Featuring the voice talent of Patton Oswalt, Molly Shannon and Kurtwood Smith, Neighbors reminds us that our current paradise is closer to actual hell than ever before.
Television Rating: 4.5/5.0
Belthazor Hellman (voice of Will Sasso) is a low level torturer in hell, obsessed with family sitcoms from earth (”that kid is not so much of a ‘Half’ anymore”). On reassignment from Satan, Belthazor is charged with taking his family onto the earth’s surface to prevent a giant drill, created by Petromundo Co., from infiltrating the homeland fires at the planet’s core.
Belthazor’s wife Tina (Molly Shannon), daughter Mandy (Tracey Fairaway), son Josh (David Soren), Uncle Vlaartark (Kyle McCulloch) and the goblin Pazuzu (Patton Oswalt) – posing as the family dog – will meet the neighbors and try to...
Television Rating: 4.5/5.0
Belthazor Hellman (voice of Will Sasso) is a low level torturer in hell, obsessed with family sitcoms from earth (”that kid is not so much of a ‘Half’ anymore”). On reassignment from Satan, Belthazor is charged with taking his family onto the earth’s surface to prevent a giant drill, created by Petromundo Co., from infiltrating the homeland fires at the planet’s core.
Belthazor’s wife Tina (Molly Shannon), daughter Mandy (Tracey Fairaway), son Josh (David Soren), Uncle Vlaartark (Kyle McCulloch) and the goblin Pazuzu (Patton Oswalt) – posing as the family dog – will meet the neighbors and try to...
- 6/7/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This week, TBS rolls out two new family sitcoms that follow the same conceit of the only-slightly dysfunctional nuclear family that bends the norm while having to learn to work together as a family, etc etc. It’s a concept that shouldn’t be unfamiliar to anybody who has ever owned a television set.
Neither are particularly original, but attempt two different approaches with varying degrees of success. Are We There Yet? Is a traditional three-camera sitcom with a middle-class clueless dad, a pretty face for a mom, and two bratty kids. Neighbors from Hell is animated, but has the same set-up. Well, except that the family members are all demons from hell.
As anyone with a memory for utterly forgettable movies should remember, Are We There Yet? is based on the 2005 Ice Cube road trip movie about a sports store owner guy taking his would-be girlfriend's kids to Canada.
Neither are particularly original, but attempt two different approaches with varying degrees of success. Are We There Yet? Is a traditional three-camera sitcom with a middle-class clueless dad, a pretty face for a mom, and two bratty kids. Neighbors from Hell is animated, but has the same set-up. Well, except that the family members are all demons from hell.
As anyone with a memory for utterly forgettable movies should remember, Are We There Yet? is based on the 2005 Ice Cube road trip movie about a sports store owner guy taking his would-be girlfriend's kids to Canada.
- 6/4/2010
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
Matt Stone and Trey Parker have joined up with the team behind Canadian series Kenny vs. Spenny to produce new episodes of the comedy-reality series for Comedy Central.
The network has licensed 10 new episodes of the show, in which childhood friends and series co-creators Kenny Hotz and <N Spencer Rice battle each other in outrageous competitions, and also has acquired 10 episodes from the show's library. The series is set to premiere Nov. 14.
Stone told The Hollywood Reporter that he and Parker became fans of the series after Kyle McCulloch, a producer on their Comedy Central show South Park, introduced them to an episode in which the duo competed to see who could stay up the longest without sleep. Stone said the episode really hit home.
"It was right after we finished 'Team America' in a six-day marathon," he said. "It was the worst time of my whole life. The physical torment that they put their bodies through touched us. It was just so funny but also realistic and raw."
After randomly running into Rice at LAX and introducing themselves -- "He was freaked out because he thought nobody would recognize him in America," Stone said -- Stone and Parker developed a friendship with Hotz and Rice and offered to help them get the show on the air in the U.S.
The network has licensed 10 new episodes of the show, in which childhood friends and series co-creators Kenny Hotz and <N Spencer Rice battle each other in outrageous competitions, and also has acquired 10 episodes from the show's library. The series is set to premiere Nov. 14.
Stone told The Hollywood Reporter that he and Parker became fans of the series after Kyle McCulloch, a producer on their Comedy Central show South Park, introduced them to an episode in which the duo competed to see who could stay up the longest without sleep. Stone said the episode really hit home.
"It was right after we finished 'Team America' in a six-day marathon," he said. "It was the worst time of my whole life. The physical torment that they put their bodies through touched us. It was just so funny but also realistic and raw."
After randomly running into Rice at LAX and introducing themselves -- "He was freaked out because he thought nobody would recognize him in America," Stone said -- Stone and Parker developed a friendship with Hotz and Rice and offered to help them get the show on the air in the U.S.
- 9/28/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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