Archives for : Judy Greer
Halloween (2018)
The opening night film at Fantastic Fest was none other than the highly anticipated sequel, Halloween (2018). Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode to come face-to-face with masked serial killer, Michael Myers, who has haunted her since the traumatic night four decades ago.
The film is inspired by John Carpenter’s classic. But filmmakers David Gordon Green and Danny McBride decided to ignore all the other sequels that followed the original Halloween from 1978, and create a story that changes Laurie’s past. In other words, 40 years later Laurie is a bad ass. Michael Myers is not her brother. And, she’s prepared to take on whatever he throws her way.
Laurie Strode is one hell of a grandma in Halloween (2018). Though her daughter (Judy Greer) still resents her for making her grow up as a survivalist since childhood, her granddaughter, Allyson, (Andi Matichak) adores her. This creates tension anytime the family is all together. It isn’t until Halloween night that Michael Myers returns to wreak havoc, and finally finish the job he started 40 years ago. Only this time he’s up against 3 generations of Strode women.
Halloween (2018) far from a stand out horror flick. We’re basically seeing the same formula just different ways of murder. However, this film is a lot of fun! McBride’s writing shines throughout the film, and it’s the comic relief that provides any sort of originality. But don’t get me wrong, I love this formula and it’s great to see Curtis back in action in a role she handles so naturally. The movie entertains the whole time through and will leave you satisfied.
Rating: 3.5/5
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn
Surprisingly enough, the people that brought us The Greasy Strangler, which I hated; has now made An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, which I really liked a lot. Jim Hosking is back with a second feature that maintain his same style and his same personal dialect. Only this time, he let go of the nauseating grease murderers and swapped it out for characters we could actually care for.
Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) stars a Lulu Danger, a recently unemployed woman who is unsatisfied with her marriage to sleazy Shane Danger (Emile Hirsch) and life all together. In an attempt to fix the couples financial troubles, Shane steals from his brother-in-law. Which then makes him the target of the world’s worst hitman (Jermaine Clement). But Lulu sees this as an opportunity, she runs off with the hitman in hopes that he can help her track down her old flame, Beverly Luff Linn (Craig Robinson).
This offbeat comedy takes a minute to warm up to. You might not be sure of the flow it’s taking. But once it gets going, it’s actually quite delightful. The all-star cast does a fantastic job, and this might be my favorite performance by Aubrey Plaza. There’s a very unique and corky chemistry between Plaza and Clement that’s almost endearing.
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn is the light-hearted deadpan comic relief that I was craving during a marathon of graphic horrors at Fantastic Fest.
Rating: 4/5
Cam
After letting Cam marinate for a bit, it quickly became one of my favorite films of the fest. Daniel Goldhaber’s feature debut is smart, sexy, and disturbing.
The film stars Madeline Brewer (Orange is the New Black and The Handmaid’s Tale) as Alice, a young web cam girl who is on the rise to breaking top 50 rank on a pornographic site. Alice lives a normal life by day, but at night she is “Lola” and constantly comes up with wild narratives to spice up her online shows. She is anxious to reach the top and beat out the other cam girls in the network. However, she never breaks her 3 rules: No public shows, no fake orgasms, and never telling “her guys” that she loves them.
Just when Alice is moving up in her ranking, she has an unwelcoming surprise when she sees a girl who looks just like her live on her web cam profile. Frantic and paranoid, Alice is on a mission to find out who has taken her identity and stolen her top rank.
Even though 60 percent of Cam consists of a bunch of web cam girls performing erotic acts, the film is incredibly magnetizing. It’s as if you’re in a trance the minute the film begins and you can’t stop watching. The neon lighting, the shocking sequences, and the captivating performance by Brewer is enough to suck you in.
Cam is the movie you didn’t know you wanted to see. It’s a tantalizing thrill-ride with a bone-crushing end that will leave you wanting more.
Rating: 4.5/5
HOLLYWOOD, CA (December 16, 2013) – Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom, Inc, announced today that principal photography has commenced on “MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN,” from Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Jason Reitman (“LABOR DAY,” “YOUNG ADULT,” “UP IN THE AIR”). The film stars Rosemarie Dewitt (“KILL THE MESSENGER,” “RACHEL GETTING MARRIED”), Jennifer Garner (“DALLAS BUYERS CLUB,” “DRAFT DAY”), Judy Greer (“DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES,” “TOMORROWLAND”), Dean Norris (“Breaking Bad,” “THE COUNSELOR”), Adam Sandler (“GROWN UPS 1 and 2,” “THE LONGEST YARD”) and Emma Thompson (“SAVING MR. BANKS,” “LOVE ACTUALLY”). The film is shooting in and around Austin, Texas.
“MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN” is based on Chad Kultgen’s novel of the same name with Reitman directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erin Cressida Wilson (“SECRETARY,” “CHLOE”). He is producing the feature with his partner Helen Estabrook through their Right of Way Films banner. Michael Beugg (“UP IN THE AIR,” “LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE”) and Mason Novick (“BAD WORDS,” “JUNO”) will serve as executive producers.
The young ensemble cast includes Timothée Chalamet (“INTERSTELLAR”), Olivia Crocicchia (“TERRI”), Kaitlyn Dever (“SHORT TERM 12”), Ansel Elgort (“THE FAULT IN OUR STARS,” “DIVERGENT”), Katherine Hughes (“ROADIES”), Elena Kampouris (“LABOR DAY”) and Travis Tope (“THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN”).
“MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN” follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives. The film attempts to stare down social issues such as video game culture, anorexia, infidelity, fame hunting, and the proliferation of illicit material on the internet. As each character and each relationship is tested, we are shown the variety of roads people choose – some tragic, some hopeful – as it becomes clear that no one is immune to this enormous social change that has come through our phones, our tablets, and our computers.
Narrated by Emma Thompson, the film’s ensemble cast features Sandler and DeWitt as Don and Rachel Truby, and Tope as their son Chris. Garner stars as Patricia Beltmeyer with Dever as her daughter Brandy. Greer is Joan Clint and Crocicchia is daughter Hannah. Norris plays Kent Mooney with Elgort playing his son Tim. Hughes and Kampouris play cheerleaders Brooke Benton and Allison Doss, respectively, and Chalamet is football player Danny Vance.
Rounding out the cast are David Denman (“The Office”), Jason Douglas (“Revolution”), Dennis Haysbert (“SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR”), Shane Lynch (“Ray Donovan”), Will Peltz (“PARANOIA”) and J.K. Simmons (“Growing Up Fisher”).