As a movie lover, one of the most wonderful pleasures of this passion is discovering new filmmakers with their own identity, style, and message. There’s almost always something special about a feature film debut from an unknown director, but when it’s from a highly popular actor with an overwhelmingly positive public opinion, the expectations surrounding the movie inevitably change. Dev Patel directs, writes – along with Paul Angunawela and John Collee (Hotel Mumbai) – produces, and stars in Monkey Man, whose story described as “John Wick in Mumbai” was deemed too heavy for the Indian audience by Netflix, prompting Jordan Peele (Get Out) to watch it, buy it, and give it a theatrical release window, so impressed he was.
Monkey Man tells the story of Kid (Patel), a young man who tries to survive night after night in an underground fight club where, while wearing a monkey mask, he’s...
Monkey Man tells the story of Kid (Patel), a young man who tries to survive night after night in an underground fight club where, while wearing a monkey mask, he’s...
- 4/7/2024
- by Manuel Sao Bento
- Talking Films
On the face of it, “The Pope’s Exorcist” would have you believe that it’s rooted in the real-life experiences of the late Father Gabriele Amorth, the Catholic priest who served for 30 years as the head exorcist of the Diocese of Rome. Its screenwriting credits proclaim as much, for starters, while a surfeit of onscreen dates and locations in the early going lend proceedings the faintest of docudrama veneers; moreover, the film is backed by the non-profit production arm of the Jesuit research university Loyola Marymount, with Loyola rector Father Edward J. Siebert among its executive producers.
Even Catholics in high places, it turns out, have a sense of humor: You needn’t wait for the “work of fiction” disclaimer in the closing credits to discern that “The Pope’s Exorcist” is ripely fantastical trash, inspired by Amorth’s work in much the same way that SunnyD is inspired by Florida oranges,...
Even Catholics in high places, it turns out, have a sense of humor: You needn’t wait for the “work of fiction” disclaimer in the closing credits to discern that “The Pope’s Exorcist” is ripely fantastical trash, inspired by Amorth’s work in much the same way that SunnyD is inspired by Florida oranges,...
- 4/7/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
Riz Ahmed was in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but his latest movie, Amazon Studios’ Encounter, isn’t that kind of sci-fi movie. Encounter is about an alien invasion, but one that occurs on present day Earth, to a normal family, and raises additional questions of paranoia.
Ahmed plays Malik, a Marine veteran who believes alien insects are possessing human beings for a takeover. Malik takes his two sons, Jay (Lucien-River Chauhan) and Bobby (Aditya Geddada), away from their mother (Janina Gavankar) and stepfather (Misha Collins).
On the road, Malik tries to keep his sons safe from people who have already been taken over by the insects. However, his ex-wife reports him to the authorities, and Malik’s parole officer Hattie (Octavia Spencer...
Riz Ahmed was in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but his latest movie, Amazon Studios’ Encounter, isn’t that kind of sci-fi movie. Encounter is about an alien invasion, but one that occurs on present day Earth, to a normal family, and raises additional questions of paranoia.
Ahmed plays Malik, a Marine veteran who believes alien insects are possessing human beings for a takeover. Malik takes his two sons, Jay (Lucien-River Chauhan) and Bobby (Aditya Geddada), away from their mother (Janina Gavankar) and stepfather (Misha Collins).
On the road, Malik tries to keep his sons safe from people who have already been taken over by the insects. However, his ex-wife reports him to the authorities, and Malik’s parole officer Hattie (Octavia Spencer...
- 1/10/2022
- by Fred Topel
- Deadline Film + TV
The new Amazon Studios film, Encounter, is a taut and thought-provoking drama, directed by Michael Pearce that stars Oscar-nominated actor Riz Ahmed. The movie also features young actors Lucian-River Chauhan and Aditya Geddada, as well as Octavia Spencer and Rory Cochrane in smaller, yet pivotal roles.
Encounter is a gripping story of decorated Marine Malik Kahn’s mission to save Jay and Bobby’s two young sons from a mysterious threat. On their perilous journey, … well, I don’t want to spoil the film; the movie Has to be experienced on screen!
Encounter combines elements of different genres, including a full-on science fiction take, a psychological thriller, and a moving family drama that is also full of action and scary mysteries. It is amazing how the director seamlessly brought all these different modes of filmmaking together to create a riveting, edge-of-your-seat-omg-what-happens-next-will-Malik-Jay-and-Bobby-be-ok, heart-pounding, compelling film-watching experience.
There are moments when you...
Encounter is a gripping story of decorated Marine Malik Kahn’s mission to save Jay and Bobby’s two young sons from a mysterious threat. On their perilous journey, … well, I don’t want to spoil the film; the movie Has to be experienced on screen!
Encounter combines elements of different genres, including a full-on science fiction take, a psychological thriller, and a moving family drama that is also full of action and scary mysteries. It is amazing how the director seamlessly brought all these different modes of filmmaking together to create a riveting, edge-of-your-seat-omg-what-happens-next-will-Malik-Jay-and-Bobby-be-ok, heart-pounding, compelling film-watching experience.
There are moments when you...
- 12/9/2021
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
It’s our favourite night of the year! The 2021 BIFA awards took place this evening at Old Billingsgate in London. Hosted by People Just Do Nothing’s Asim Chaudhry, those attending include Emma Corrin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Joe Cole, Lucy Boynton, Jude Law, Harris Dickinson, Paapa Essiedu, Caitriona Balfe, Morfydd Clark, Riz Ahmed, Wumni Mosaku, Ruth Wilson, Stephen Graham and James Norton.
The 24th British Independent Film Awards saw Joanna Scanlan’s After Love take home a handful of awards, Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava also did well – and there’s something wonderful in championing the very best in British Independent film – so, hey – we’re all winners here.*
David Sztypuljak and Scott Davis were our men at the event, asking questions.
You can see our interviews below, as well as a full list of tonight’s winners and nominees.
*Actual winners are below.
The 2021 BIFA Red Carpet Interviews
The...
The 24th British Independent Film Awards saw Joanna Scanlan’s After Love take home a handful of awards, Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava also did well – and there’s something wonderful in championing the very best in British Independent film – so, hey – we’re all winners here.*
David Sztypuljak and Scott Davis were our men at the event, asking questions.
You can see our interviews below, as well as a full list of tonight’s winners and nominees.
*Actual winners are below.
The 2021 BIFA Red Carpet Interviews
The...
- 12/6/2021
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Family road movie and sci-fi conspiracy merge in this subtle psychological drama from Beast director Michael Pearce
Otherworldly science fiction meets down-to-earth psychological realism in director and co-writer Michael Pearce’s impressive follow-up to 2017’s brilliant Beast. Boasting yet another standout performance by Riz Ahmed, the nuances of which are superbly amplified by Jed Kurzel’s slowly mutating score, this is a genre-hopping affair, balanced between tangible personal experience and growing paranoia, an affecting meld of inner and outer worlds in which family stresses and extraterrestrial spectres collide.
Like Nic Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth, to which this owes a tonal debt, Encounter opens with images of objects plummeting through the atmosphere toward our planet’s surface. From here we move to Blue Velvet-style closeups of insects, vividly illustrating alien microbes entering the ecosystem. Then we’re in Apocalypse Now territory, as Ahmed’s Malik Khan awakens in his hotel room.
Otherworldly science fiction meets down-to-earth psychological realism in director and co-writer Michael Pearce’s impressive follow-up to 2017’s brilliant Beast. Boasting yet another standout performance by Riz Ahmed, the nuances of which are superbly amplified by Jed Kurzel’s slowly mutating score, this is a genre-hopping affair, balanced between tangible personal experience and growing paranoia, an affecting meld of inner and outer worlds in which family stresses and extraterrestrial spectres collide.
Like Nic Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth, to which this owes a tonal debt, Encounter opens with images of objects plummeting through the atmosphere toward our planet’s surface. From here we move to Blue Velvet-style closeups of insects, vividly illustrating alien microbes entering the ecosystem. Then we’re in Apocalypse Now territory, as Ahmed’s Malik Khan awakens in his hotel room.
- 12/5/2021
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
In the creepy opening sequence of “Encounter,” a taut, genre-bending psychological thriller with nonstop drive, an asteroid crashes into Planet Earth before the title even appears. The blinding incident causes a curious chain reaction: There are bloodthirsty beetles, crawling insects, a human infected by a microbe-carrying mosquito.
Elsewhere in a grimy hotel room, ex-Marine Malik Kahn tries to piece together the details of a mysterious virus, possibly caused by what we’ve just witnessed. As a protective measure, he sprays his body and grossly infested walls with bug spray, giving us every reason to believe that he’s assigned himself to an unofficial operation to battle what appears to be a sweeping epidemic, if the news reports on his TV are any indication.
Directed by Michael Pearce (“Beast”) with meticulous craftsmanship that’s always gripping even when it registers a touch heavy-handed, the film takes off from there, sending Malik...
Elsewhere in a grimy hotel room, ex-Marine Malik Kahn tries to piece together the details of a mysterious virus, possibly caused by what we’ve just witnessed. As a protective measure, he sprays his body and grossly infested walls with bug spray, giving us every reason to believe that he’s assigned himself to an unofficial operation to battle what appears to be a sweeping epidemic, if the news reports on his TV are any indication.
Directed by Michael Pearce (“Beast”) with meticulous craftsmanship that’s always gripping even when it registers a touch heavy-handed, the film takes off from there, sending Malik...
- 9/3/2021
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
Telluride is off and running, and it’s not business as usual.
The first day began with the annual patron brunch, where press, talent and other festival-goers mingle in the celebration of the Colorado getaway, now in its 48th year. In attendance were “Belfast” writer and director Kenneth Branagh with one of his stars Jamie Dornan, which screens for the first time later this evening. Others include “A Hero” writer and director Asghar Farhadi, “The Power of the Dog” co-star Kodi Smit-McPhee, “Flee” director Jonas Poher Rasmussen and “Red Rocket” writer and director Sean Baker with his two stars Simon Rex and Bree Elrod.
Afterward, Telluride co-director Julie Huntsinger greeted the media in attendance at the press orientation, speaking about the full slate and everything it has to offer. In an obvious sign of the times, Huntsinger shared that for one of the first times in recent memory, one of their tribute honorees,...
The first day began with the annual patron brunch, where press, talent and other festival-goers mingle in the celebration of the Colorado getaway, now in its 48th year. In attendance were “Belfast” writer and director Kenneth Branagh with one of his stars Jamie Dornan, which screens for the first time later this evening. Others include “A Hero” writer and director Asghar Farhadi, “The Power of the Dog” co-star Kodi Smit-McPhee, “Flee” director Jonas Poher Rasmussen and “Red Rocket” writer and director Sean Baker with his two stars Simon Rex and Bree Elrod.
Afterward, Telluride co-director Julie Huntsinger greeted the media in attendance at the press orientation, speaking about the full slate and everything it has to offer. In an obvious sign of the times, Huntsinger shared that for one of the first times in recent memory, one of their tribute honorees,...
- 9/2/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Nitram Trailer — Justin Kurzel‘s Nitram (2021) movie trailer has been released by Madman Films. The Nitram trailer stars Caleb Landry-Jones, Judy Davis, Anthony Lapaglia, Essie Davis, Sean Keenan, Annabel Marshall-Roth, Ethan Cook, and Rick James. Crew Shaun Grant wrote the screenplay for the Nitram. Jed Kurzel created the music for the [...]
Continue reading: Nitram (2021) Movie Trailer: Caleb Landry-Jones lives a Isolated, Frustrated Life until he meets Essie Davis...
Continue reading: Nitram (2021) Movie Trailer: Caleb Landry-Jones lives a Isolated, Frustrated Life until he meets Essie Davis...
- 7/25/2021
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Justin Kurzel’s Nitram left an indelible impression on critics following its premiere at Cannes Film Festival on Friday, with many singling out the film’s tone and performances for praise.
The pre-Port Arthur massacre portrait of perpetrator Martin Bryant – who is not named in the film – is the first Australian feature to screen in competition at the French festival since Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty in 2011. In the same year, Kurzel’s debut Snowtown, about a series of murders committed in Adelaide between 1992-1999, screened in Critic’s Week.
Like Snowtown, Nitram is also based on true events and penned by Shaun Grant. However, the reviews that followed last week’s screening drew only broad stroke comparisons between the two films while commending Kurzel for his storytelling choices.
Writing for Variety, Jessica Kiang described Nitram as “ostensibly similar” to Snowtown, but noted the former represented “a far more mature...
The pre-Port Arthur massacre portrait of perpetrator Martin Bryant – who is not named in the film – is the first Australian feature to screen in competition at the French festival since Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty in 2011. In the same year, Kurzel’s debut Snowtown, about a series of murders committed in Adelaide between 1992-1999, screened in Critic’s Week.
Like Snowtown, Nitram is also based on true events and penned by Shaun Grant. However, the reviews that followed last week’s screening drew only broad stroke comparisons between the two films while commending Kurzel for his storytelling choices.
Writing for Variety, Jessica Kiang described Nitram as “ostensibly similar” to Snowtown, but noted the former represented “a far more mature...
- 7/19/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Justin Kurzel’s exceptionally disturbing, horribly plausible “Nitram” opens with an excerpt from a 1979 Australian news report on firework accidents. A boy of about 12 is being interviewed from his Hobart hospital bed, and when the posh, compassionate voice of the presenter asks if the injuries he sustained will discourage him from playing with fireworks in future, he smiles a strange, sly smile, and says no. Years later, he is a young man (electrically played by Caleb Landry Jones) in the backyard of his parents’ house, setting off firecrackers while neighbors howl at him from their balconies. The intense discomfort of this nitroglycerine meditation on what makes a mass murderer is exactly that of watching a lit firework burn down in your hand toward its gunpowder base, unable to let go of it, transfixed by its snapping sparks.
“Nitram,” written by Kurzel’s “Snowtown” and “True History of the Kelly Gang” collaborator Shaun Grant,...
“Nitram,” written by Kurzel’s “Snowtown” and “True History of the Kelly Gang” collaborator Shaun Grant,...
- 7/16/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Parallel worlds commingle with initially intriguing but progressively less invigorating results in “A Writer’s Odyssey,” a handsomely produced action-fantasy directed by Chinese hitmaker Lu Yang. Centered on a desperate father whose search for his missing daughter draws him into a plot to assassinate the author of an online fantasy novel, “Odyssey” is packed with stunning sights including a 50-ft., four-armed CGI villain but is let down by a script that fails to fashion promising story elements into a consistently compelling whole. One of seven major films releasing locally on Feb. 12 for the lucrative Chinese New Year season, this hotly anticipated item opens on the same day in 109 U.S. theaters.
Based on a short story by Shuang Xuetao, “Odyssey” gets off to a strong start with action on radically different fronts. In the real world, middle-aged man Guan Ning (Lei Jiayin) thinks he’s finally found the low-life human traffickers who kidnapped his daughter,...
Based on a short story by Shuang Xuetao, “Odyssey” gets off to a strong start with action on radically different fronts. In the real world, middle-aged man Guan Ning (Lei Jiayin) thinks he’s finally found the low-life human traffickers who kidnapped his daughter,...
- 2/12/2021
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Aisling Franciosi, Baykali Ganambarr, Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman, Harry Greenwood, Ewen Leslie, Charlie Shotwell, Michael Sheasby, Charlie Jampijinpa Brown, Magnolia Maymuru | Written and Directed by Jennifer Kent
Australian filmmaker Jennifer Kent’s follow-up to The Babadook is this brutal, uncompromising revenge tale set in the Tasmanian Outback. As such, it is most assuredly not for everyone, but those who can stomach the horrific opening are in for a stunningly realised revenge thriller that sears itself into your brain with its white hot rage.
Set in the British colony of Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1825, the film stars Aisling Franciosi as Clare, a young convict who’s served her time and is waiting for Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Clafin) to sign her papers, so she can begin a new life of freedom with her husband (Michael Sheasby) and newborn baby. However, Hawkins shows no intention of granting her freedom...
Australian filmmaker Jennifer Kent’s follow-up to The Babadook is this brutal, uncompromising revenge tale set in the Tasmanian Outback. As such, it is most assuredly not for everyone, but those who can stomach the horrific opening are in for a stunningly realised revenge thriller that sears itself into your brain with its white hot rage.
Set in the British colony of Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1825, the film stars Aisling Franciosi as Clare, a young convict who’s served her time and is waiting for Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Clafin) to sign her papers, so she can begin a new life of freedom with her husband (Michael Sheasby) and newborn baby. However, Hawkins shows no intention of granting her freedom...
- 2/4/2021
- by Matthew Turner
- Nerdly
Antonio Gambale led the winners at Tuesday’s Screen Music Awards, picking up two prizes for his work on Netflix’s Unorthodox.
This year’s ceremony, jointly staged by Apra Amcos and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers, was virtual, hosted by Justine Clarke, Meyne Wyatt and Claudia Karvan.
Clarke used the opportunity to urge government to support the industry, in particular screen composers, in the wake of Covid-19.
“I implore all of you listening, and in particular the Federal Government, not to leave the Australian composers behind as you undertake industry reform.
“There remains a huge opportunity for the Australian Government to further invest in the creation and commissioning of Australian content, and in particular, our composers, to fully celebrate their skills and talent. There is now greater risk that our creatives, our composers, and our small businesses will be left behind in the fast-changing global landscape that is ahead of us.
This year’s ceremony, jointly staged by Apra Amcos and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers, was virtual, hosted by Justine Clarke, Meyne Wyatt and Claudia Karvan.
Clarke used the opportunity to urge government to support the industry, in particular screen composers, in the wake of Covid-19.
“I implore all of you listening, and in particular the Federal Government, not to leave the Australian composers behind as you undertake industry reform.
“There remains a huge opportunity for the Australian Government to further invest in the creation and commissioning of Australian content, and in particular, our composers, to fully celebrate their skills and talent. There is now greater risk that our creatives, our composers, and our small businesses will be left behind in the fast-changing global landscape that is ahead of us.
- 12/1/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Composer, orchestrator and conductor Nerida Tyson-Chew will receive the 2020 Distinguished Services to the Australian Screen Award at the Screen Music Awards in December.
The prize, presented by the Apra Amcos board of directors, will recognise Tyson-Chew’s 35 year career, blazing a path for female composers, and her diverse and extensive portfolio of work, spanning feature films, television dramas, children’s productions, documentaries and wildlife films.
Tyson-Chew’s recent credits include H is for Happiness, for which she is currently nominated for an Aacta, as well as the BAFTA-nominated animated series The Deep, Rescue – Special Ops, Batman – The Animated Series and Taboo.
Other projects include 2004 blockbuster Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, children’s series Tracey McBean and 1995’s Hotel Sorrento, which won her an AFI Award.
Tyson-Chew told If she was delighted with the honour, noting that film scoring was the “ultimate collaborative art”.
“Our storytelling skills, as creators of music for the screen,...
The prize, presented by the Apra Amcos board of directors, will recognise Tyson-Chew’s 35 year career, blazing a path for female composers, and her diverse and extensive portfolio of work, spanning feature films, television dramas, children’s productions, documentaries and wildlife films.
Tyson-Chew’s recent credits include H is for Happiness, for which she is currently nominated for an Aacta, as well as the BAFTA-nominated animated series The Deep, Rescue – Special Ops, Batman – The Animated Series and Taboo.
Other projects include 2004 blockbuster Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, children’s series Tracey McBean and 1995’s Hotel Sorrento, which won her an AFI Award.
Tyson-Chew told If she was delighted with the honour, noting that film scoring was the “ultimate collaborative art”.
“Our storytelling skills, as creators of music for the screen,...
- 11/17/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Antony Partos at last year’s Screen Music Awards.
Antony Partos leads the nominees for the upcoming Screen Music Awards, staged by Apra Amcos and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (Agcs).
Partos, the Agcs president, is among 46 nominees across 12 categories, with 36 projects recognised across shorts, TV, advertising, features and soundtrack albums.
Given Covid, this year the awards will be held online, streaming via YouTube on December 1 from 7pm Aedt. Justine Clarke will preside over hosting duties.
Partos has earned two nods for his work on Operation Buffalo, including Best Television Theme and Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie. He’s also up for two more awards: Best Music for Documentary for Maralinga Tjarutja and Best Original Song Composed for the Screen for Total Control’s ‘Edge of Something’, with co-writers Missy Higgins and Matteo Zingales.
Melbourne screen composer and music producer Cornel Wilczek has scored three nominations, including...
Antony Partos leads the nominees for the upcoming Screen Music Awards, staged by Apra Amcos and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (Agcs).
Partos, the Agcs president, is among 46 nominees across 12 categories, with 36 projects recognised across shorts, TV, advertising, features and soundtrack albums.
Given Covid, this year the awards will be held online, streaming via YouTube on December 1 from 7pm Aedt. Justine Clarke will preside over hosting duties.
Partos has earned two nods for his work on Operation Buffalo, including Best Television Theme and Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie. He’s also up for two more awards: Best Music for Documentary for Maralinga Tjarutja and Best Original Song Composed for the Screen for Total Control’s ‘Edge of Something’, with co-writers Missy Higgins and Matteo Zingales.
Melbourne screen composer and music producer Cornel Wilczek has scored three nominations, including...
- 10/28/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
“Nothing You Are About to See Is True.”
Those are the words that teasingly introduce True History of the Kelly Gang, the dazzling and defiantly rogue western from director Justin Kurzel that plays with facts to get at a deeper truth about Ned Kelly. This we know is true about 19th-century outlaw: The Irish-Catholic bank robber and cop killer who wore a metal helmet and a suit of armor in his final shootout with the law became known as Australia’s Robin Hood as he and his gang fought against...
Those are the words that teasingly introduce True History of the Kelly Gang, the dazzling and defiantly rogue western from director Justin Kurzel that plays with facts to get at a deeper truth about Ned Kelly. This we know is true about 19th-century outlaw: The Irish-Catholic bank robber and cop killer who wore a metal helmet and a suit of armor in his final shootout with the law became known as Australia’s Robin Hood as he and his gang fought against...
- 4/23/2020
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Sometimes, old can be new again. It isn’t always what story being told, but how it’s being told. In the case of True History of the Kelly Gang, filmmaker Justin Kurzel is taking a unique and almost punk rock approach to the classic Ned Kelly legend. It’s a brash and undeniably different way of telling this story. For some, it will be strange and an immediate turn off. For others, it will be the first time that the Kelly tale has truly come alive. Hitting Digital and VOD on Friday, it at least has the distinction of being unlike anything else hitting screens. The film is a look at the legend of the Australian outlaw. Taking place in the English ruled badlands of colonial Australia, where the Irish endure must endure their violent subjugation, Ned Kelly (Orlando Schwerdt as a child and George MacKay as an adult) will come to oppose them.
- 4/22/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The director of Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies, Pearl Jam’s Jeremy and many more reflects on his career and some of the movies that made him.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Arlington Road (1999)
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Firewall (2006)
The Orphanage (2007)
Nostalgia (2018)
Avatar (2009)
Titanic (1997)
Chef (2014)
The Laundromat (2019)
Honeymoon In Vegas (1992)
Demonlover (2003)
Under The Sand (2000)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Under The Skin (2013)
The Great Beauty (2013)
Slap Shot (1977)
Network (1976)
Straw Dogs (1971)
The Pawnbroker (1964)
Star Wars (1977)
The Exorcist (1973)
Jaws (1975)
The World’s Greatest Athlete (1973)
All The President’s Men (1976)
Liquid Sky (1982)
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
City Of Hope (1991)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Snowpiercer (2013)
The Flintstones (1994)
Matinee (1993)
Batman (1989)
Transformers (2007)
A History Of Violence (2005)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Psycho (1960)
Psycho (1998)
Mandy (2018)
Phantom Thread (2017)
Magnolia (1999)
Boogie Nights (1997)
The Master (2012)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
The Mustang (2019)
Inherent Vice (2014)
The New World (2005)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
The Last Word (2017)
Cocaine Cowboys (2006)
The Burglar (1957)
What Lies Beneath...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Arlington Road (1999)
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Firewall (2006)
The Orphanage (2007)
Nostalgia (2018)
Avatar (2009)
Titanic (1997)
Chef (2014)
The Laundromat (2019)
Honeymoon In Vegas (1992)
Demonlover (2003)
Under The Sand (2000)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Under The Skin (2013)
The Great Beauty (2013)
Slap Shot (1977)
Network (1976)
Straw Dogs (1971)
The Pawnbroker (1964)
Star Wars (1977)
The Exorcist (1973)
Jaws (1975)
The World’s Greatest Athlete (1973)
All The President’s Men (1976)
Liquid Sky (1982)
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
City Of Hope (1991)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Snowpiercer (2013)
The Flintstones (1994)
Matinee (1993)
Batman (1989)
Transformers (2007)
A History Of Violence (2005)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Psycho (1960)
Psycho (1998)
Mandy (2018)
Phantom Thread (2017)
Magnolia (1999)
Boogie Nights (1997)
The Master (2012)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
The Mustang (2019)
Inherent Vice (2014)
The New World (2005)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
The Last Word (2017)
Cocaine Cowboys (2006)
The Burglar (1957)
What Lies Beneath...
- 4/21/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
IFC Films will release True History Of The Kelly Gang – On Demand and Digital April 24th.
Review by Stephen Tronicek
t’s a rare and wonderful treat when the mise-en-scene of a particular film becomes so crazed that you feel true terror but also cathartic beauty. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre achieves this, Possession (1981) achieves this, Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth achieves this and now Kurzel’s most recent film True History of the Kelly Gang does. The concoction is two-fold, one part believing and empathizing with characters and one part placing them in an ungodly situation. In order to do that, a filmmaker has to pull out the stops, formalistically and emotionally. Kurzel does.
Following the true exploits of Ned Kelly, an Australian outlaw played with uncompromising vigor by George MacKay (1917), True History of the Kelly Gang aims to explore a more empathetic version of the outlaw’s tale. Shaped by trauma and colonial terror,...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
t’s a rare and wonderful treat when the mise-en-scene of a particular film becomes so crazed that you feel true terror but also cathartic beauty. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre achieves this, Possession (1981) achieves this, Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth achieves this and now Kurzel’s most recent film True History of the Kelly Gang does. The concoction is two-fold, one part believing and empathizing with characters and one part placing them in an ungodly situation. In order to do that, a filmmaker has to pull out the stops, formalistically and emotionally. Kurzel does.
Following the true exploits of Ned Kelly, an Australian outlaw played with uncompromising vigor by George MacKay (1917), True History of the Kelly Gang aims to explore a more empathetic version of the outlaw’s tale. Shaped by trauma and colonial terror,...
- 4/17/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Despite being years removed from the Twilight franchise, having spent the majority of her career at this point in independent cinema, Kristen Stewart still is lumped in as someone who’s just a part of the Hollywood machine. That ignores a whole host of tremendous performances by Stewart, but the bad rap remains. Today, Stewart has another indie would be awards hopeful to share in the biopic Seberg. She is as good as she’s ever been here, but the film itself is not on her level. It’s a shame too, since in better hands, she’d be an Oscar nominee this year in Best Actress, I can all but assure you of that much. The movie is a biopic, as previously mentioned, looking at and taking inspiration from a seminal moment in the life of Jean Seberg (Stewart). Set in the late 1960’s, Seberg is an actress, darling of the French New Wave,...
- 12/13/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Top: Anthony Partos, Brett Aplin and Bryony Marks. Bottom: Caitlin Yeo, David Bridie.
Bryony Marks, Caitlin Yeo, Antony Partos, Brett Aplin and David Bridie have received three nominations each for the upcoming Screen Music Awards, staged by Apra Amcos and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (Agcs).
They are among a group of 40 composers who have been nominated across 12 award categories, spanning more than 36 works. The awards will be held in late November in Melbourne, hosted by Justine Clarke.
Nominated for Best Feature Film Score of the Year is Yeo for Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, Partos and Dan Luscombe for I Am Mother; Aj True for Jirga and François Tétaz for Judy & Punch.
Yeo is also nominated for Best Television Theme for The Pacific: In the Wake of Captain Cook with Sam Neill and also the category of Best Music for an Advertisement, while Partos is nominated...
Bryony Marks, Caitlin Yeo, Antony Partos, Brett Aplin and David Bridie have received three nominations each for the upcoming Screen Music Awards, staged by Apra Amcos and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (Agcs).
They are among a group of 40 composers who have been nominated across 12 award categories, spanning more than 36 works. The awards will be held in late November in Melbourne, hosted by Justine Clarke.
Nominated for Best Feature Film Score of the Year is Yeo for Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, Partos and Dan Luscombe for I Am Mother; Aj True for Jirga and François Tétaz for Judy & Punch.
Yeo is also nominated for Best Television Theme for The Pacific: In the Wake of Captain Cook with Sam Neill and also the category of Best Music for an Advertisement, while Partos is nominated...
- 10/16/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
It’s a shame that female filmmakers are held to a different standard than men. When a woman makes a disturbing or violent movie, the response is far different than to that of her male counterparts. The takes are hotter and there’s a sense of almost questioning why she would mount this project. That’s not fair and a real shame. All throughout its time on the festival, that sort of discussion has surrounded Jennifer Kent’s follow up to The Babadook, the revenge tale The Nightingale. Though the flick is decidedly disturbing and violent, it’s also about something, so it’s hardly pointless bloodshed. In fact, one might say that Kent has found a way to make the brutality essential. It’s upsetting, but that’s the point. The film is a period drama, set in 1825 during the time of British colonization. 21 year old Irish servant Clare...
- 7/30/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Liz Watts and Ivan Sen.
Directors Jennifer Kent and Ivan Sen, producer Liz Watts and Oscar-nominated production designer Fiona Crombie have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Film editor Dany Cooper, composer Jed Kurzel, Animal Logic founder Zareh Nalbandian, make-up artist Rosalina Da Silva, cinematographer Ari Wegner and stunt performer Glenn Boswell are also among 842 new members of the Oscars body.
Kent has been invited to join the directors and writers branches. Nalbandian and Boswell are among the members-at-large group.
Cooper’s latest credits include Jim Loach’s Measure of a Man, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Unjoo Moon’s I Am Woman.
Kurzel composed the music for French director/actor Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre’s The Mustang, Julius Avery’s Overlord and The Nightingale.
Watts is executive producing Stateless, a six-part drama about four strangers in an immigration detention centre for the ABC, after...
Directors Jennifer Kent and Ivan Sen, producer Liz Watts and Oscar-nominated production designer Fiona Crombie have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Film editor Dany Cooper, composer Jed Kurzel, Animal Logic founder Zareh Nalbandian, make-up artist Rosalina Da Silva, cinematographer Ari Wegner and stunt performer Glenn Boswell are also among 842 new members of the Oscars body.
Kent has been invited to join the directors and writers branches. Nalbandian and Boswell are among the members-at-large group.
Cooper’s latest credits include Jim Loach’s Measure of a Man, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Unjoo Moon’s I Am Woman.
Kurzel composed the music for French director/actor Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre’s The Mustang, Julius Avery’s Overlord and The Nightingale.
Watts is executive producing Stateless, a six-part drama about four strangers in an immigration detention centre for the ABC, after...
- 7/1/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Oscar winners Lady Gaga, Annie Lennox and Adele are among the 28 composers, songwriters and music editors invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year.
The three multiplatinum pop stars are probably the best-known of this year’s crop. Gaga won for “A Star Is Born,” Adele for “Skyfall,” and Lennox for her “Into the West” from the final “Lord of the Rings” movie “The Return of the King.”
Three other Oscar winners are on this year’s list: “Black Panther” composer Ludwig Goransson and Gaga’s “Shallow” co-writers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. Two other nominees from last year’s movies were added to the roster: “Mary Poppins Returns” songwriter Scott Wittman and “Star Is Born” music editor Jason Ruder.
Other composers include Michael Abels (“Get Out”), Nathan Barr (“The House With a Clock in Its Walls”), Kris Bowers (“Green Card”), Jane Antonia Cornish (“Citizen...
The three multiplatinum pop stars are probably the best-known of this year’s crop. Gaga won for “A Star Is Born,” Adele for “Skyfall,” and Lennox for her “Into the West” from the final “Lord of the Rings” movie “The Return of the King.”
Three other Oscar winners are on this year’s list: “Black Panther” composer Ludwig Goransson and Gaga’s “Shallow” co-writers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. Two other nominees from last year’s movies were added to the roster: “Mary Poppins Returns” songwriter Scott Wittman and “Star Is Born” music editor Jason Ruder.
Other composers include Michael Abels (“Get Out”), Nathan Barr (“The House With a Clock in Its Walls”), Kris Bowers (“Green Card”), Jane Antonia Cornish (“Citizen...
- 7/1/2019
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
The Mustang is an impressive indie prison drama marking the directional debut of French actress Laure De Clermont. It tells a moving story based on a real program involving inmates and wild horses.
The Mustang is the story of Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts), an inmate at a Nevada State prison and a man of few words. Not only does his bald and hulking physique make for a threatening presence, his terse and brooding disposition adds to his menace. He’s a heavily-tattooed caged brute doing stints in and out of solitary confinement. His crime isn’t revealed until near the film’s end but it’s hinted that his beastly exterior masks a deep anguish. His relationship with his pregnant daughter Martha (Gideon Adlon), who visits, is strained, and he even loses his temper when she comes to ask him to sign some papers. She wants to make a better...
The Mustang is the story of Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts), an inmate at a Nevada State prison and a man of few words. Not only does his bald and hulking physique make for a threatening presence, his terse and brooding disposition adds to his menace. He’s a heavily-tattooed caged brute doing stints in and out of solitary confinement. His crime isn’t revealed until near the film’s end but it’s hinted that his beastly exterior masks a deep anguish. His relationship with his pregnant daughter Martha (Gideon Adlon), who visits, is strained, and he even loses his temper when she comes to ask him to sign some papers. She wants to make a better...
- 3/29/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Stars: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Pilou Asbæk, Mathilde Ollivier, John Magaro, Iain de Caestecker | Written by Billy Ray, Mark L. Smith | Directed by Julius Avery
[Note: With the film now out on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD, here's a reposting of our review of Overloard from its theatrical release]
Directed by Julius Avery, WWII action-horror Overlord is produced by J.J. Abrams, which explains why it has suspiciously high production values for what is essentially a rollicking slice of schlock cinema. Mixing impressive gore effects with a pleasingly high splatter factor, it’s something of a treat for genre fans.
Jovan Adepo (The Leftovers) plays Private Boyce, a recently drafted WWII soldier who’s parachuted behind enemy lines and tasked with destroying a communications tower, alongside explosives expert Ford (Wyatt “Son of Kurt” Russell), wise-cracking private Tibbet (John Magaro) and naïve war photographer Chase (Iain de Caestecker). Their mission soon takes an altogether darker turn when Boyce discovers a secret underground lab where a Nazi scientist (Erich Redman) is conducting experiments on local villagers and creating monsters with a super-serum.
[Note: With the film now out on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD, here's a reposting of our review of Overloard from its theatrical release]
Directed by Julius Avery, WWII action-horror Overlord is produced by J.J. Abrams, which explains why it has suspiciously high production values for what is essentially a rollicking slice of schlock cinema. Mixing impressive gore effects with a pleasingly high splatter factor, it’s something of a treat for genre fans.
Jovan Adepo (The Leftovers) plays Private Boyce, a recently drafted WWII soldier who’s parachuted behind enemy lines and tasked with destroying a communications tower, alongside explosives expert Ford (Wyatt “Son of Kurt” Russell), wise-cracking private Tibbet (John Magaro) and naïve war photographer Chase (Iain de Caestecker). Their mission soon takes an altogether darker turn when Boyce discovers a secret underground lab where a Nazi scientist (Erich Redman) is conducting experiments on local villagers and creating monsters with a super-serum.
- 3/14/2019
- by Matthew Turner
- Nerdly
It’s rare when a young female filmmaker scores a breakout like Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre did when she unleashed The Mustang at Sundance 2019. Now audiences can see what all the shouting is about. The ticking time bomb of male rage — dangerous if you get too close — may seem like an unlikely topic for a French actress to tackle in her feature debut as a director. But don’t expect this firebrand to stay corraled by sexist preconceptions. Clermont-Tonnerre comes from a place of defiance, and her fearless instincts surge through every frame.
- 3/13/2019
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Lost souls of the animal and human variety coming together in a quest for salvation has been depicted on film numerous times before. Rarely, however, has it also been a prison movie where this story is being told. That’s where The Mustang comes into play. This flick never tries to be anything more than it is, but what it is somehow becomes beautiful. In the wrong hands, it could have been unrelentingly bleak and almost impossible to sit through. The threat of violence looms around every corner. Yet, what stays with you here is the passion that can be had through dedication. What stays with you is the power of redemption. All told, what stays with you is how good a work The Mustang truly is. The movie is a prison drama, centered on the story of Roman (Matthias Schoenaerts) an inmate serving time for a violent crime. We...
- 3/13/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Hollywood, Calif. – Produced by J.J. Abrams and directed by Julius Avery (Son of a Gun), the “wild and fantastically fun thrill fest” Overlord lands on Digital February 5, 2019 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD February 19 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.
Embraced by critics, Overlord is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and was hailed as “wonderfully tense and truly exhilarating”. The wildly entertaining genre mash-up boasts a stellar ensemble cast, non-stop action and plenty of wild twists you have to see to believe.
Fans can go even further behind enemy lines with nearly an hour of explosive bonus material on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack or Digital*. The 4K Ultra HD disc and 4K Ultra HD Digital release** feature Dolby Vision® Hdr, which brings entertainment to life through ultra-vivid picture quality. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter,...
Embraced by critics, Overlord is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and was hailed as “wonderfully tense and truly exhilarating”. The wildly entertaining genre mash-up boasts a stellar ensemble cast, non-stop action and plenty of wild twists you have to see to believe.
Fans can go even further behind enemy lines with nearly an hour of explosive bonus material on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack or Digital*. The 4K Ultra HD disc and 4K Ultra HD Digital release** feature Dolby Vision® Hdr, which brings entertainment to life through ultra-vivid picture quality. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter,...
- 1/10/2019
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
At the heart of war is horror. Vicious, random horror. The war film often toys with darker genre elements to create this affect, including the use of tension, shock, and even extreme violence. The former two elements can be found in films such as Dunkirk, while the latter sits plain as day in towering examples like Saving Private Ryan. Often, these works posit their techniques as realism, making ventures into more heightened genre play quite noteworthy. Along comes Overlord, a genre cocktail of horror and war spilling over with gnarly viscera and nerve-shredding intensity that forms a berserk and brazen union.
On the cusp of D-Day, a band of American soldiers (led by a gruff Wyatt Russell) are tasked with taking down a communication tower deep behind enemy lines. In the village nearby, hidden in a French woman’s house (Mathilde Ollivier), the soldiers must complete their mission against a...
On the cusp of D-Day, a band of American soldiers (led by a gruff Wyatt Russell) are tasked with taking down a communication tower deep behind enemy lines. In the village nearby, hidden in a French woman’s house (Mathilde Ollivier), the soldiers must complete their mission against a...
- 11/10/2018
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
Stars: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Pilou Asbæk, Mathilde Ollivier, John Magaro, Iain de Caestecker | Written by Billy Ray, Mark L. Smith | Directed by Julius Avery
Directed by Julius Avery, WWII action-horror Overlord is produced by J.J. Abrams, which explains why it has suspiciously high production values for what is essentially a rollicking slice of schlock cinema. Mixing impressive gore effects with a pleasingly high splatter factor, it’s something of a treat for genre fans.
Jovan Adepo (The Leftovers) plays Private Boyce, a recently drafted WWII soldier who’s parachuted behind enemy lines and tasked with destroying a communications tower, alongside explosives expert Ford (Wyatt “Son of Kurt” Russell), wise-cracking private Tibbet (John Magaro) and naïve war photographer Chase (Iain de Caestecker). Their mission soon takes an altogether darker turn when Boyce discovers a secret underground lab where a Nazi scientist (Erich Redman) is conducting experiments on local villagers and creating monsters with a super-serum.
Directed by Julius Avery, WWII action-horror Overlord is produced by J.J. Abrams, which explains why it has suspiciously high production values for what is essentially a rollicking slice of schlock cinema. Mixing impressive gore effects with a pleasingly high splatter factor, it’s something of a treat for genre fans.
Jovan Adepo (The Leftovers) plays Private Boyce, a recently drafted WWII soldier who’s parachuted behind enemy lines and tasked with destroying a communications tower, alongside explosives expert Ford (Wyatt “Son of Kurt” Russell), wise-cracking private Tibbet (John Magaro) and naïve war photographer Chase (Iain de Caestecker). Their mission soon takes an altogether darker turn when Boyce discovers a secret underground lab where a Nazi scientist (Erich Redman) is conducting experiments on local villagers and creating monsters with a super-serum.
- 11/8/2018
- by Matthew Turner
- Nerdly
In case there are any young folks out there who aren’t convinced that the Nazis were bad — shockingly, there still seem to be stragglers — here stomps Julius Avery’s World War II thriller “Overlord,” a blast of righteous rage in which a group of good American boys avenge themselves against an SS goon squad made of child torturers, corpse defilers, icon-burners, murderers, and rapists. These Germans even spit on baseballs.
“Overlord” is a jingoistic throwback to a time of moral clarity when there weren’t very fine people on both sides, adapted for an audience that likes its action movies to be structured like video games, with Private Boyce (Jovan Adepo) creeping down brick hallways like he’s in a first-person shooter, pausing to pick up clues. Novel? Not especially. “Overlord” works best as a patriotism booster shot — it’s “Inglourious Basterds” without a swizzle of irony. But at its Fantastic Fest premiere,...
“Overlord” is a jingoistic throwback to a time of moral clarity when there weren’t very fine people on both sides, adapted for an audience that likes its action movies to be structured like video games, with Private Boyce (Jovan Adepo) creeping down brick hallways like he’s in a first-person shooter, pausing to pick up clues. Novel? Not especially. “Overlord” works best as a patriotism booster shot — it’s “Inglourious Basterds” without a swizzle of irony. But at its Fantastic Fest premiere,...
- 9/23/2018
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
141 original scores just made the Oscar shortlist, meaning that we have no real idea which soundtracks will go on to be nominated for the actual Academy Award — “Phantom Thread” composer Jonny Greenwood looks poised to finally be recognized for his work, but might “Baywatch” be a spoiler? We simply don’t know, dear reader. We simply don’t know.
As you await the nominations — which will be announced on Tuesday, January 23 — treat yourself to this selection of tracks from the shortlist.
Read More:2018 Oscar Predictions: Best Original Score
Read More:Oscars 2018: Best Original Score Shortlist Includes ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘All the Money in the World,’ and More
Here are the 141 scores vying for an Oscar nod:
“Alien: Covenant,” Jed Kurzel, composer
“All I See Is You,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer
“All the Money in the World,” Daniel Pemberton, composer
“Annabelle: Creation,” Benjamin Wallfisch, composer
“Band Aid,” Lucius, composer
“Battle of the Sexes,...
As you await the nominations — which will be announced on Tuesday, January 23 — treat yourself to this selection of tracks from the shortlist.
Read More:2018 Oscar Predictions: Best Original Score
Read More:Oscars 2018: Best Original Score Shortlist Includes ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘All the Money in the World,’ and More
Here are the 141 scores vying for an Oscar nod:
“Alien: Covenant,” Jed Kurzel, composer
“All I See Is You,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer
“All the Money in the World,” Daniel Pemberton, composer
“Annabelle: Creation,” Benjamin Wallfisch, composer
“Band Aid,” Lucius, composer
“Battle of the Sexes,...
- 12/23/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
- 12/18/2017
- by Jazz Tangcay
- AwardsDaily.com
"If it's ina word or it's in a look, you can't get rid of the Babadook." Since its release in 2014, Jennifer Kent's horror film The Babadook has provided ample amounts of nightmare fuel for horror fans, and now Waxwork Records is giving the film's unsettling score the vinyl release it deserves with a deluxe LP complete with a pop-up storybook and liner notes from composer Jed Kurzel.
Available to purchase beginning Friday, December 8th, The Babadook deluxe vinyl score can be viewed in the gallery below, and to learn more about the release, visit Waxwork Records online.
Available to purchase beginning Friday, December 8th, The Babadook deluxe vinyl score can be viewed in the gallery below, and to learn more about the release, visit Waxwork Records online.
- 12/6/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Amazingly, Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant opened in June and is already out on video disc. The film’s lackluster reviews and weak box office had 20th Century Home Entertainment get this out to begin bringing in the cash the film failed to generate. The good news is that the movie is better than you were led to believe and the disc’s special features are well worth a look.
Picking up 10 years after Prometheus, this film finally begins to fill in the backstory of the acid-spewing Xenomorphs. The biggest challenge with this entry is that Scott declares in one feature he wanted to scare the shit out of his audience but had to contend with viewers who have had nearly 40 years of chest-bursting, hissing, tail-wagging, nasty bug-like beasties chasing and eating humans. Thankfully, he’s up to the challenge by finding fresh angles and editing techniques to shock his...
Picking up 10 years after Prometheus, this film finally begins to fill in the backstory of the acid-spewing Xenomorphs. The biggest challenge with this entry is that Scott declares in one feature he wanted to scare the shit out of his audience but had to contend with viewers who have had nearly 40 years of chest-bursting, hissing, tail-wagging, nasty bug-like beasties chasing and eating humans. Thankfully, he’s up to the challenge by finding fresh angles and editing techniques to shock his...
- 8/24/2017
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Jerry Goldsmith was already a veteran film composer with numerous iconic scores under his belt by the time he was enlisted to work on Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979). He’d worked in radio and television through the 1950s, contributing music to classic shows such as The Twilight Zone (1959) and Perry Mason (1959) before making the move to film, writing scores for films as diverse in subject matter (and sound) as Stagecoach (1966) and Planet of the Apes (1968) in the 1960s and Chinatown (1974) and The Omen (1976) in the 1970s. Goldsmith’s rich orchestral scores for such films, which were informed and influenced by early 20th century modernist composers, are both experimental and economical in their use and development of thematic material. He explained, “What I really try to do is to take one simple motif of the material for the picture, and a broad theme, and construct it so they always can work...
- 6/6/2017
- MUBI
For “Alien: Covenant,” Ridley Scott not only redesigned H.R Giger’s iconic Xenomorph creature from the first movie, but also unveiled the new Neomorph. They’re a fascinating study in contrast (and brilliantly animated by Mpc), especially in light of the director’s passion for sentient life forms.
The Xenomorph contains a subtle shift between fleshy skin and a harder exoskeleton, while the Neomorph offers more humanoid qualities with its elegant simplicity. Yet it packs a deadly bite with a double-jointed, protruding jaw, which strikes without warning.
Read More: Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ Franchise Is Becoming the Perfect Organism — and ‘Covenant’ Is the Missing Link
However, there’s at least one tender moment, in which Michael Fassbender’s android gazes upon the Neomorph and blows on his face the way you’d blow into the nostril of a horse. It’s a mutual fascination between creator and creation that...
The Xenomorph contains a subtle shift between fleshy skin and a harder exoskeleton, while the Neomorph offers more humanoid qualities with its elegant simplicity. Yet it packs a deadly bite with a double-jointed, protruding jaw, which strikes without warning.
Read More: Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ Franchise Is Becoming the Perfect Organism — and ‘Covenant’ Is the Missing Link
However, there’s at least one tender moment, in which Michael Fassbender’s android gazes upon the Neomorph and blows on his face the way you’d blow into the nostril of a horse. It’s a mutual fascination between creator and creation that...
- 5/24/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
This was expected to be a nice pre-Memorial Day box-office weekend: a solid franchise opener and two lower-budget films doing their job to create modest improvement over last year. That didn’t happen.
Instead, the top 10 fell ten percent from last year, “Alien: Covenant” did around $10 million below consensus expectations; the reboot of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” also underperformed. Only the female-centered young adult entry, “Everything, Everything,” escaped relatively unscathed.
Help should be on the way. Next week sees two films with optimistic projections — the R-rated film version of “Baywatch” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” (#5 in that franchise). Last year saw two openers (“X-Men: Apocalypse” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass”) only total $92 million between them for the three-day weekend. That should be easy to best — but that’s what we thought this week. It might be time to worry.
The Top 10
1. Alien: Covenant...
Instead, the top 10 fell ten percent from last year, “Alien: Covenant” did around $10 million below consensus expectations; the reboot of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” also underperformed. Only the female-centered young adult entry, “Everything, Everything,” escaped relatively unscathed.
Help should be on the way. Next week sees two films with optimistic projections — the R-rated film version of “Baywatch” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” (#5 in that franchise). Last year saw two openers (“X-Men: Apocalypse” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass”) only total $92 million between them for the three-day weekend. That should be easy to best — but that’s what we thought this week. It might be time to worry.
The Top 10
1. Alien: Covenant...
- 5/21/2017
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Fans of the “Alien” franchise will finally get to see Ridley Scott’s latest installment,”Alien: Covenant,” this Friday, May 19. But before heading out to the movies, you can listen to the film’s soundtrack, by composer Jed Kurzel.
Read More: ‘Alien Covenant’ Review: Michael Fassbender Is a Creepy Delight, But It’s Mostly the Same Old Horror Show
In an interview with Dread Central, the Australian singer/composer spoke about the combination of organic and synthetic sounds present in all of the “Alien” movies. “It definitely provided a jumping off point for me,” the composer said. “When I first met Ridley, we talked a lot about these organic-sounding instruments being corrupted either by foreign sounds or from within themselves. Even within the more lush orchestral pieces there are elements suggesting a threatening presence, like breaths and pulses. Ridley was a big fan of the BBC Radiophonic show from the 60’s.
Read More: ‘Alien Covenant’ Review: Michael Fassbender Is a Creepy Delight, But It’s Mostly the Same Old Horror Show
In an interview with Dread Central, the Australian singer/composer spoke about the combination of organic and synthetic sounds present in all of the “Alien” movies. “It definitely provided a jumping off point for me,” the composer said. “When I first met Ridley, we talked a lot about these organic-sounding instruments being corrupted either by foreign sounds or from within themselves. Even within the more lush orchestral pieces there are elements suggesting a threatening presence, like breaths and pulses. Ridley was a big fan of the BBC Radiophonic show from the 60’s.
- 5/19/2017
- by Yoselin Acevedo
- Indiewire
Say what you will about his final products, but Ridley Scott has spent quite a bit of time in the Alien world. From the aforementioned Alien to Prometheus, he has dabbled with xenomorphs more than anyone else. This week, he returns to the world once again with Alien: Covenant, a franchise outing that attempts to split the difference. It’s Scott trying to have his cake and eat it too. As you might have seen hinted over the past week or two by yours truly, I didn’t think it worked, but reviews so far have been divisive. Some love this flick, while others aren’t fans. In other words, it’s very much a Scott outing and a summer blockbuster. The film is both a sequel to Prometheus as well as a prequel to Alien. Here, we follow the crew of the colony ship Covenant. Filled with sleeping settlers...
- 5/18/2017
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Photo Credit: Mark Rogers.
In true Ripley form, another heroine Daniels (Katherine Waterston) teams up with Muthur, the Covenant’s onboard Artificial Intelligence, to take out a hostile alien threat.
Conceived by Ridley Scott and 3Am, directed by Luke Scott, and produced by Rsa Films. Check out the new video below before Alien: Covenant hits theaters everywhere on May 19th.
Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with Alien: Covenant, a new chapter in his ground-breaking Alien franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.
Set ten years after the events depicted in Scott’s 2012 hit Prometheus, Alien: Covenant returns to the roots of the director’s groundbreaking...
In true Ripley form, another heroine Daniels (Katherine Waterston) teams up with Muthur, the Covenant’s onboard Artificial Intelligence, to take out a hostile alien threat.
Conceived by Ridley Scott and 3Am, directed by Luke Scott, and produced by Rsa Films. Check out the new video below before Alien: Covenant hits theaters everywhere on May 19th.
Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with Alien: Covenant, a new chapter in his ground-breaking Alien franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.
Set ten years after the events depicted in Scott’s 2012 hit Prometheus, Alien: Covenant returns to the roots of the director’s groundbreaking...
- 5/5/2017
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Ridley Scott returns with another Alien prequel to follow 2012’s Prometheus. Here’s our spoiler-free review of Alien: Covenant...
Please note: this review contains a light spoiler, something that's been revealed already in the film's promotion. But just flagging it here in case you've managed to avoid everything so far.
See related Doctor Who: Thin Ice geeky spots and Easter eggs Doctor Who: The Pilot geeky spots and Easter eggs Doctor Who: Smile geeky spots and Easter eggs Doctor Who: Knock Knock geeky spots and Easter eggs
Prometheus was a lot of things, but one of the things it seldom felt like was an Alien movie. In some respects, this was a positive; rather than offer a straight retread of his 1979 hit, director Ridley Scott went off in another direction - broadening out the Alien universe with tales of humanity’s origins and ancient gods on...
Please note: this review contains a light spoiler, something that's been revealed already in the film's promotion. But just flagging it here in case you've managed to avoid everything so far.
See related Doctor Who: Thin Ice geeky spots and Easter eggs Doctor Who: The Pilot geeky spots and Easter eggs Doctor Who: Smile geeky spots and Easter eggs Doctor Who: Knock Knock geeky spots and Easter eggs
Prometheus was a lot of things, but one of the things it seldom felt like was an Alien movie. In some respects, this was a positive; rather than offer a straight retread of his 1979 hit, director Ridley Scott went off in another direction - broadening out the Alien universe with tales of humanity’s origins and ancient gods on...
- 5/4/2017
- Den of Geek
Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with Alien: Covenant, a new chapter in his ground-breaking Alien franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.
Set ten years after the events depicted in Scott’s 2012 hit Prometheus, Alien: Covenant returns to the roots of the director’s groundbreaking saga with a uniquely terrifying tale filled with white-knuckle adventure and monstrous new creatures. With this, the sixth installment in the blockbuster series, the visionary director edges ever closer toward revealing the mysterious origins of the mother of all aliens, the lethal Xenomorph from the original film.
Alien: Covenant stars Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, 12 Years a Slave), Katherine Waterston (Steve Jobs,...
Set ten years after the events depicted in Scott’s 2012 hit Prometheus, Alien: Covenant returns to the roots of the director’s groundbreaking saga with a uniquely terrifying tale filled with white-knuckle adventure and monstrous new creatures. With this, the sixth installment in the blockbuster series, the visionary director edges ever closer toward revealing the mysterious origins of the mother of all aliens, the lethal Xenomorph from the original film.
Alien: Covenant stars Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, 12 Years a Slave), Katherine Waterston (Steve Jobs,...
- 5/2/2017
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A total of 145 scores were recently announced as being eligible for this year’s Academy Award, with everything from perceived frontrunner “La La Land” (Justin Hurwitz) and “Jackie” (Mica Levi) to outliers like “Sausage Party” and “Elle.” The final five will be nominated on January 24. In the meantime, avail yourself of this Spotify playlist featuring selections from 110 of the eligible scores — as well as the full list of every eligible score.
Read More: Oscar Best Score Contenders: The Inside Story of Creating 5 Diverse Frontrunners
Read More: Oscars 2017: Listen to 70 Songs Eligible for This Year’s Academy Award
The Abolitionists,” Tim Jones, composer
“Absolutely Fabulous The Movie,” Jake Monaco, composer
“The Accountant,” Mark Isham, composer
“Alice through the Looking Glass,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Allied,” Alan Silvestri, composer
“Almost Christmas,” John Paesano, composer
“American Pastoral,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“The Angry Birds Movie,” Heitor Pereira, composer
“Anthropoid,” Robin Foster, composer
“Armenia, My Love,...
Read More: Oscar Best Score Contenders: The Inside Story of Creating 5 Diverse Frontrunners
Read More: Oscars 2017: Listen to 70 Songs Eligible for This Year’s Academy Award
The Abolitionists,” Tim Jones, composer
“Absolutely Fabulous The Movie,” Jake Monaco, composer
“The Accountant,” Mark Isham, composer
“Alice through the Looking Glass,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Allied,” Alan Silvestri, composer
“Almost Christmas,” John Paesano, composer
“American Pastoral,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“The Angry Birds Movie,” Heitor Pereira, composer
“Anthropoid,” Robin Foster, composer
“Armenia, My Love,...
- 1/3/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Justin Kurzel’s “Assassin’s Creed” starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, arrives in theaters this week. The story revolves around criminal Callum Lynch (Fassbender), who is set to be executed but when the Templars learn of his Assassin ancestry, they fake his death in order to use him for their mission. Critics’ reviews are in, with many not so thrilled about the latest video game movie.
IndieWire’s David Ehrlich gave the film a B- and called it a “silly, senseless and possibly the best video game movie ever made.”
“Justin Kurzel’s adaptation is utterly ridiculous, but it’s also the most interesting blockbuster in a year where most of them were boring…Declaring this to be the best video game movie ever made is the kind of backhanded compliment that sounds like hyperbole, but the description fits the bill on both counts.”
Read More: Review: ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Is Silly,...
IndieWire’s David Ehrlich gave the film a B- and called it a “silly, senseless and possibly the best video game movie ever made.”
“Justin Kurzel’s adaptation is utterly ridiculous, but it’s also the most interesting blockbuster in a year where most of them were boring…Declaring this to be the best video game movie ever made is the kind of backhanded compliment that sounds like hyperbole, but the description fits the bill on both counts.”
Read More: Review: ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Is Silly,...
- 12/21/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
In case you didn’t notice last week, a number of categories had their ranks thinned out by the Academy. Well, in that regard, I’m here to help. Yes, AMPAS thinned the herd in Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and Best Foreign Language Feature. They also managed to include a handful of snubs, as always is the case. Those will be listed in just a moment, but definitely study these lists, as there are Oscar hints to be found within. For now though, these are just the remaining titles fighting it out for nominations. Take a look and be sure to see how it all impacts predictions going forward. Below you will see the 145 films in Original Score that are still eligible, the 91 tunes in Original Song, and the nine in Foreign Language Feature that remain in play. There were no real Song snubs, but notably Score has eliminated presumed nominee Arrival,...
- 12/20/2016
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Over three-dozen times has Hollywood tried their hand at the videogame adaptation, and the results, to say the least, have left much to be desired. Perhaps it’s the lack of venerable source material, but translating the entertainment factor of videogames — an experience in which the user often repeatedly fails until some enjoyment is ultimately had — has most adaptations feeling like one is watching characters play in God mode, making most big-screen attempts come across as dull, live-action cut-scenes. Enter Macbeth and Snowtown director Justin Kurzel, who brings perhaps the best visual eye yet for a videogame adaptation (apologies, Paul W.S. Anderson defenders), along with one of the finest ensembles. Despite this talent, Assassin’s Creed bears a jumbled narrative and self-serious approach that ends up feeling far too assaultive on the senses without any genuine pay-off.
Michael Fassbender portrays Callum Lynch, a criminal on death row who, after a lethal injection,...
Michael Fassbender portrays Callum Lynch, a criminal on death row who, after a lethal injection,...
- 12/19/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
History, which is foundational to the captivatingly bonkers story of Justin Kurzel’s “Assassin’s Creed,” tells us that this should be a very bad movie. For one thing, this dense, dour, and oft-delayed holiday spectacle is based on a popular series of video games — a grim omen in a year that brought us the likes of “Warcraft” and “Ratchet & Clank.” For another, Kurzel’s moody adaptation is told on a massive scale, budgeted to compete with other franchise monstrosities like “Rogue One” and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” — the familiar trouble with making a film like this is that it’s too expensive to afford any risks.
But “Assassin’s Creed,” in which Michael Fassbender’s blank protagonist quite literally repeats history, refuses to be defined by the past. On the contrary, this bizarre, borderline incoherent action movie becomes the most interesting blockbuster of 2016 because of how...
But “Assassin’s Creed,” in which Michael Fassbender’s blank protagonist quite literally repeats history, refuses to be defined by the past. On the contrary, this bizarre, borderline incoherent action movie becomes the most interesting blockbuster of 2016 because of how...
- 12/19/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
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