I’m going full bore on my “Movie Love” segment of the site, as I ask actors/filmmakers to briefly discuss one of their favorite films. During the Puzzle interviews, Kelly Macdonald chose The Apartment and David Denman chimed in on Apocalypse Now.
Though she’s had an excellent career, Kelly Macdonald is an under the radar actress whose diverse body of work (No Country for Old Men,Trainspotting, Boardwalk Empire) doesn’t stop her from getting overlooked. She refreshingly takes center stage in Puzzle, and it’s a tale that on would guess resonates with the Scottish actress.
Now in its third season, Queen of the South is set in different parts around the world thanks to Teresa Mendoza’s (Alice Braga) dangerous drug running business. In real life, Braga is a world traveler, and in the video below she talks about her own artistic ambitions.
Grammy winning alternative rock band Deftones are celebrating their first annual Dia de los Deftones on November 3rd at Petco Park at the Park. Joining them on the all ages line are Future, Linkin Park’sMike Shinoda, Rocket From the Crypt, H09909 (pronounced “horror”), Doja Cat, Voww, and Vein!. Ticket details are below!
Hot Summer Nights - Maika Monroe, 'McKayla', and Timothée Chalamet, 'Daniel' Photos by Curtis Baker and Guy D'Alema. Courtesy of A24.
There will be a ton of style versus substance arguments with Hot Summer Nights, director/writer Elijah Bynum’s visually hypnotic and balls out homage to such features as Goodfellas and Boogie Nights. Is this movie more than a series of beautifully composed shots and a wonderfully curated soundtrack (kudos for the use of The Outfield’s “Your Love”)? I believe it does, but maybe you need to look a little closer at this 1991 Cape Cod set odyssey.
This week’s giveaway is my Blu-ray copy of Disobedience and DVD copy of Ismael’s Ghosts. I really dug Ismael’s Ghosts(haven’t checked out Disobedience as of yet). Details are below!
Ben Dickey and Ethan Hawke on the set of Ethan Hawke’s BLAZE. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.
Ethan Hawkedelivered one of his finest performances as jazz musician/singer Chet Baker in the underrated Born to Be Blue, and now he’s back in the music world (via cinema) as the director and co-writer of Blaze.
One has to give props to a game that, in its press release, directly says it was “inspired by the beloved Mega Man series.” Bottom line is transparency is a good thing, and hopefully that homage leads to a deep adventure with the “roguelike action platformer” 20XX which hits XBox One July 11. Details on the title, which is now out on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC, is below!
This week is another two Blu-ray situation. My review copies of Beirut (starring Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike) and Truth or Dare (w/ Lucy Hale) are up for grabs. Details after the jump!
Joe Cardamone in "The Icarus Line Must Die" - Dark Star Pictures
The Icarus Line Must Die is a narrative whose roots are embedded in documentary and the underground Los Angeles music scene. Director Michael Grodner also brings a No Wave Cinema aesthetic to the playground, and even with these myriad of influences, The Icarus Line Must Die thankfully carves a singular path.
