Actor Clark Duke (HOT TUB MACHINE, KICK-ASS) makes his feature film directorial debut with ARKANSAS starring an impressive cast that includes Liam Hemsworth (THE HUNGER GAMES, INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE), Vince Vaughn, John Malkovich and Duke in a leading role which he steals. While ARKANSAS starts out promising, a diversion in the plot ruins the flow of the movie. Watch video review below.
TO THE STARS by indie filmmaker Martha Stephens (LAND HO!) is a sweet coming of age story set in 1960s Oklahoma, but a damning portrayal of small town life in America.
There's been plenty of Ned Kelly movies about the Australian outlaw, but the latest, TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG, based on Peter Carey's book, is more of an origins story in the same vein as JOKER (2019). And no surprise, a domineering mother is at the root of this story.
Star George MacKay who plays the famous outlaw is proving he's an up-and-coming actor to watch for with his stand out performance as Ned Kelly as well as his riveting role in Sam Mendes' 1917. Nicholas Hoult also makes quite the impression as morally corrupt while Russell Crowe and Charlie Hunnam have small but impactful roles. Director Justin Kurzel gives this Ned Kelly biopic a punk rock attitude with an apocalyptic tone.
TIME WARP: THE GREATEST CULT FILMS OF ALL-TIME VOLUME 1 MIDNIGHT MADNESS takes a deep dive into the all-time greatest cult movies from THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW to THE BIG LEBOWSKI. The 105 minute documentary, now On Demand and Digital, is fascinating look at the birth of the midnight movie with tons of commentary from the actors, filmmakers involved with the iconic films. There are three volumes in the series with the other two covering Comedy and Camp and Horror and SciFi coming in May and June.
ENDINGS, BEGINNINGS, a super duper sexy film starring Shailene Woodley, Sebastian Stan, and Jamie Dornan arrives on Digital April 17. The trio strip down for some tantalizing scenes, and it seems no body doubles were used.
SEA FEVER, starring Hermione Corfield (RUST CREEK), Connie Nielsen (WONDER WOMAN), Dougray Scott ("Batwoman") borrows from tons of sci-fi classics but director/writer Neasa Hardiman steers this ship in an unexpected direction. In addition, the larger themes of SEA FEVER are fitting given the situation humanity finds itself in with a global pandemic.
Ironically the new DisneyNature documentary titled ELEPHANT is singular but the new Disney+ movie shows it takes a village to survive the harsh environment in Africa. However, the new nature documentary narrated by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, is dedicated to Gaia, the matriarch of the group who uses her instincts and past memories to get her herd including her one-year-old nephew Jomo safely to the next watering hole and back. If humans think they have it rough, ELEPHANT puts everything in perspective. Watch video below.
Disney+ premieres two new DisneyNature documentaries Friday, April 3, DOLPHIN REEF and ELEPHANT. Both nature docs are a welcome distraction at a time when families need to entertain their kids and perhaps learn lessons from the animal kingdom. Video review below.
From the guys that brought us WATCHMEN and THE LEFTOVERS comes a political satire that should make both liberals and conservatives laugh at themselves. THE HUNT is a fun, campy, violent comedy that pokes fun at both sides, but it eventually wears out its welcome.
Daniel Radcliffe stars in ESCAPE FROM PRETORIA playing Tim Jenkins, a real-life political prisoner during the days of apartheid in South Africa who escaped from Pretoria Prison. The film is now in a limited amount of theaters, On Demand and Digital.
