(Welcome to Under the Radar, a column where we spotlight specific movies, shows, trends, performances, or scenes that caught our eye and deserved more attention ... but otherwise flew under the radar. In this edition: the haunting genre-bender "The Beast," the farcical indie "Hundreds of Beavers," and HBO's "The Sympathizer" all stand out as clear highlights.)
Buckle up, folks: The theme of this month's edition of "Under the Radar" falls under the category of weird and wild.
More so than in previous years, this past April marked something of an awkward transition point in the overall release calendar. While Oscar season is well and truly behind us, the summer blockbuster season still remains a few weeks away from truly ramping up in earnest. Sure, the one-two punch of "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" and "Furiosa" technically kick off the festivities in short order, but June and July are when the real heavy-hitters -- hello,...
Buckle up, folks: The theme of this month's edition of "Under the Radar" falls under the category of weird and wild.
More so than in previous years, this past April marked something of an awkward transition point in the overall release calendar. While Oscar season is well and truly behind us, the summer blockbuster season still remains a few weeks away from truly ramping up in earnest. Sure, the one-two punch of "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" and "Furiosa" technically kick off the festivities in short order, but June and July are when the real heavy-hitters -- hello,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
Stars: Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Doug Mancheski, Olivia Graves, Wes Tank, Luis Rico | Written by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Mike Cheslik | Directed by Mike Cheslik
When my partner asked me what movie I was watching perhaps “checking out Hundreds of Beavers” wasn’t the best of all possible answers. And I suppose trying to clarify it with “big hairy Canadian beavers” didn’t help. But despite the title and opening quote from St. Augustine, “Lord grant me chastity, but not yet!”, this isn’t that kind of a movie.
The new film from director Mike Cheslik and co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the pair who gave us the Tews-directed Lake Michigan Monster, never really gets raunchier than an old episode of The Benny Hill Show as it relates the tale of Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) who, as we see in the opening animation, has lost his apple orchard...
When my partner asked me what movie I was watching perhaps “checking out Hundreds of Beavers” wasn’t the best of all possible answers. And I suppose trying to clarify it with “big hairy Canadian beavers” didn’t help. But despite the title and opening quote from St. Augustine, “Lord grant me chastity, but not yet!”, this isn’t that kind of a movie.
The new film from director Mike Cheslik and co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the pair who gave us the Tews-directed Lake Michigan Monster, never really gets raunchier than an old episode of The Benny Hill Show as it relates the tale of Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) who, as we see in the opening animation, has lost his apple orchard...
- 4/16/2024
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Since it seems that the big action blockbusters are taking over the multiplex far in advance of their usual Summertime occupancy, what’s out there for lovers of silent-movie style slapstick and Golden Age cartoon short lunacy (as in those “Tunes”)? Well, a recent “midnight movie” indie hit on the “film festival circuit” is now available to rent or buy via streaming. Oh, but that title might raise a few “red flags” on your business search engine when getting some info on it. Not to worry, since most rating boards would probably give it a “PG-13” rating, at most, due to some scatological humor and some sexy gymnastics for a few seconds. Ah, but let’s delve a bit more into the movie with the ‘eyebrow-raising’ moniker, the fantasy fable/farce concerning Hundreds Of Beavers.
Well, it does resemble a silent comedy from a hundred years ago just before we...
Well, it does resemble a silent comedy from a hundred years ago just before we...
- 4/15/2024
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Reuniting the team that brought Lake Michigan Monster to audiences in 2019, frostbitten slapstick epic Hundreds of Beavers sets its digital debut after a successful festival and theatrical run.
Look for Hundreds of Beavers to be available for rental and purchase on Prime Video and Apple TV nationwide through FilmHub starting April 15, 2024. Other major Tvod platforms will follow. The frostbitten epic comedy will be available as an SVOD exclusive on Fandor beginning April 19.
The film stars Ryland Brickson Cole Tews as the intrepid hero of this frostbitten inventive epic, co-written by Tews and Mike Cheslik making his feature directorial debut.
About Hundreds of Beavers: “In this silent supernatural epic, a drunken applejack salesman is thrust into the frigid wilderness. Can he go from Zero to Hero, become North America’s greatest fur trapper, and defeat hundreds of beavers?”
Tews plays Jean Kayak, who “finds himself stranded in a surreal winter landscape...
Look for Hundreds of Beavers to be available for rental and purchase on Prime Video and Apple TV nationwide through FilmHub starting April 15, 2024. Other major Tvod platforms will follow. The frostbitten epic comedy will be available as an SVOD exclusive on Fandor beginning April 19.
The film stars Ryland Brickson Cole Tews as the intrepid hero of this frostbitten inventive epic, co-written by Tews and Mike Cheslik making his feature directorial debut.
About Hundreds of Beavers: “In this silent supernatural epic, a drunken applejack salesman is thrust into the frigid wilderness. Can he go from Zero to Hero, become North America’s greatest fur trapper, and defeat hundreds of beavers?”
Tews plays Jean Kayak, who “finds himself stranded in a surreal winter landscape...
- 4/3/2024
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Wes Tank in Hundreds Of BeaversImage: Srh
With influences including Charlie Chaplin, Guy Maddin, Looney Tunes, Trey Parker, Joe Carnahan’s The Grey, and a handful of Nintendo games, Hundreds Of Beavers is one of the most distinctive movies you’ll see all year, and one made for midnight viewings if ever anything was.
With influences including Charlie Chaplin, Guy Maddin, Looney Tunes, Trey Parker, Joe Carnahan’s The Grey, and a handful of Nintendo games, Hundreds Of Beavers is one of the most distinctive movies you’ll see all year, and one made for midnight viewings if ever anything was.
- 3/11/2024
- by Luke Y. Thompson
- avclub.com
Those dismayed by the cancellation of the big-budget “Coyote vs. Acme” — a high-profile casualty of the recent Hollywood trend towards pulling the plug on near-completed projects — may find consolation and then some in “Hundreds of Beavers.” That is, if they become aware of it, of course. Chances are good that they will, eventually, as this DIY delight has begun self-distributing to North American theaters following a long tour on the regional festival circuit. It’s sure to develop a significant cult following with its unique mix of silent-era slapstick, animation elements, theme-park-style critter costumes, and general air of inspired absurdity.
Well, not entirely unique: Director Mike Cheslik and star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews previously collaborated on 2018’s “Lake Michigan Monster,” a similarly nonsensical B&w comedy, albeit in a more Guy Maddin-esque pseudo-early-talkie vein, with a fantasy adventure gist in the vein of Jules Verne. But for all its enterprise,...
Well, not entirely unique: Director Mike Cheslik and star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews previously collaborated on 2018’s “Lake Michigan Monster,” a similarly nonsensical B&w comedy, albeit in a more Guy Maddin-esque pseudo-early-talkie vein, with a fantasy adventure gist in the vein of Jules Verne. But for all its enterprise,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
“Hundreds of Beavers” is a new action adventure comedy feature, directed by Mike Cheslik, The film with blends of puppetry, stop motion, miniatures, actors in rabbit, beaver, wolf, and raccoon suits and a whole lot more, starring Ryland Brickson, Cole Tews, Wes Tank, Olivia Graves and Doug Mancheski, releasing January 26, 2024 in select theaters:
“…a drunken salesman is thrust into the frigid wilderness. Can he go from ‘Zero’ to “Hero’ defeating hundreds of beavers…?”
Click the images to enlarge…...
“…a drunken salesman is thrust into the frigid wilderness. Can he go from ‘Zero’ to “Hero’ defeating hundreds of beavers…?”
Click the images to enlarge…...
- 1/18/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Stars: Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Doug Mancheski, Olivia Graves, Wes Tank, Luis Rico | Written by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Mike Cheslik | Directed by Mike Cheslik
When my partner asked me what I was doing tonight perhaps “checking out Hundreds of Beavers” wasn’t the best of all possible answers. And I suppose trying to clarify it with “big hairy Canadian beavers” didn’t help. But despite the title and opening quote from St. Augustine, “Lord grant me chastity, but not yet!”, this isn’t that kind of a movie.
The new film from director Mike Cheslik and co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the pair who gave us the Tews-directed Lake Michigan Monster, never really gets raunchier than an old episode of The Benny Hill Show as it relates the tale of Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) who, as we see in the opening animation, has lost his apple orchard...
When my partner asked me what I was doing tonight perhaps “checking out Hundreds of Beavers” wasn’t the best of all possible answers. And I suppose trying to clarify it with “big hairy Canadian beavers” didn’t help. But despite the title and opening quote from St. Augustine, “Lord grant me chastity, but not yet!”, this isn’t that kind of a movie.
The new film from director Mike Cheslik and co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the pair who gave us the Tews-directed Lake Michigan Monster, never really gets raunchier than an old episode of The Benny Hill Show as it relates the tale of Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) who, as we see in the opening animation, has lost his apple orchard...
- 7/31/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Titles like Mike Cheslik's "Hundreds of Beavers" are why film festival veterans urge anyone listening to watch as many obscure titles as possible. Outside festival walls, a microbudget black-and-white, almost-no-dialogue 19th-century tale about an American fur trapper versus [checks notes] hundreds of beavers is the hardest of sells. But at a festival like Austin's Fantastic Fest, while sharing theaters with other adventurous moviegoing weirdos who want to see what gems programmers sneak into daily schedules? "Hundreds of Beavers" almost feels commonplace, blending historically inaccurate pioneer struggles with multiple comedy styles that never try to sell their actors in head-to-toe furry costumes as anything more than humans in woodland critter clothing.
Ryland Brickson Cole Tews plays a lush Applejack salesman named Jean Kayak, who watches his orchard ash in flames and distillery tanks crumble thanks to nature's deadliest foe: beavers. Jean is left shivering, blanketed by a layer of harsh winter's snow,...
Ryland Brickson Cole Tews plays a lush Applejack salesman named Jean Kayak, who watches his orchard ash in flames and distillery tanks crumble thanks to nature's deadliest foe: beavers. Jean is left shivering, blanketed by a layer of harsh winter's snow,...
- 9/29/2022
- by Matt Donato
- Slash Film
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