Y: The Last Man
Genre: Adventure/Sci-Fi
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Writer: Matt Parker
Based on the comic series
Cast: Jack Reynor, Tessa Thompson, Constance Wu, Gal Gadot, Julianne Moore, Mackenzie Davis, Samara Weaving, Elizabeth Henstridge, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Aimee Teegarden, Lauren Ambrose
Plot: Brooklyn, New York. Yorick Brown (Jack Reynor) hangs, suspended upside down from his ceiling, strapped into a straight jacket. He is talking to his girlfriend Beth Deville (Samara Weaving), who is doing anthropological work in the Australian Outback for graduate school. He works at escaping from the straight jacket while she asks him about a job interview he had. He tells her that the prospects on that front don't look promising, but he did make a a good chunk of change performing card tricks down at Washington Square after the interview, so it wasn't a total loss. Yorick is free from the straight jacket when he gets a call from his mother. He asks Beth to wait on the other line. Yorick tells his mother, Jennifer Brown (Julianne Moore), that he's talking to Beth and asks if he can call her back. Jennifer tells Yorick to give Beth her best as she walks down the steps of the Capital Building in Washington D.C. Yorick asks Beth how things in Australia are. She starts describing how beautiful it is, but Yorick is suddenly hit by monkey feces, thrown by his pet capuchin monkey, Ampersand. Beth rolls her eyes and asks who gave him a monkey. Yorick tells her he volunteered to train it for a non-profit group.
Nablus, West Bank. Colonel Alter Tse-elon (Gal Gadot) is protecting a group of American television journalists doing a piece on the growing women's rights movement in the region. Some children begin throwing rocks at the news team. Alter begins firing her gun toward the kids. The journalists tell her to take it easy, they're just kids after all. She tells them that she is firing rubber bullets well above their heads just to scare them off.
Al Karak, Jordan. Agent 355 (Tessa Thompson) sneaks into a house and tells the woman inside that there are men coming after her to kill her. The woman asks why, and 355 tells her it's because of her amulet, the Amulet of Helene. The woman refuses to give it up, and is suddenly riddled with several bullets, killing her. Two armed men then storm in through the window. 355 kills them both and then looks around at the dead bodies around her. She radios in to Culper Ring, saying to inform the President that there's going to be a slight delay.
Back in Brooklyn, Yorick is still on the phone with Beth. He admits to her that he's been feeling agoraphobic since she left for Australia. Beth tells him not to be afraid of the world. He says he's not afraid of the world, he's afraid of the world without her. Yorick looks at a ring on his dresser.
Boston, Massachusetts. Hero Brown (Mackenzie Davis), a paramedic, is in the back of an ambulance making out with a firefighter when her phone starts going off. Hero looks at the phone, and sees it's her mother. Hero pulls herself off the man and answers the phone. While Hero is talking to her mother, Jennifer Brown, the firefighter is called to a fire. Hero waves to him.
The very pregnant Dr. Allison Mann (Constance Wu) is being wheeled through a hospital on a wheel chair, going into labor. The doctor asks her who her regular doctor is. Allison says she hasn't seen one since she's a doctor herself. The doctor asks who the father is, and Allison says she's the father. The doctor thinks for a moment and then realizes that Allison is saying she's about to give birth to her own clone.
On Capital Hill, Jennifer Brown's male aide clutches his throat. In Nablus, the male television journalists begin coughing up blood. In a plane 20,000 feet above Jordan, the pilot of 355's plane spits up blood all over the plane's wind shield. World wide, the male of every species has died, blood leaking from their eyes and mouths. Jennifer tries giving her aide CPR. Agent 355 takes the reigns of the plane and tries to radio for help. The doctor delivering Allison's baby lays on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Yorick asks Beth to marry him over the phone, but the line goes dead before she can respond. Yorick hears a loud crashing sound and looks out his window. Several cars have crashed and caught fire outside. Yorick looks at Ampersand and wonders aloud what is going on, telling Ampersand that he is not mentally equipped right now for another 9/11.
Two Months Later. Yorick walks down the streets outside Washington D.C. wearing a large poncho and gas mask, concealing his identity. He carries Ampersand in a pet carrier. Suddenly, he is almost run over by a garbage truck driven by Waverly (Elizbeth Henstridge). She gets out to check on him, assuming he's a woman. She looks behind the truck and is annoyed that the dead bodies of men fell out of the back. Yorick is surprised. Waverly tells him that it is her job to clean the bodies of the deceased men. Yorick notices that she has a gun and asks where she got it. Waverly tells him she took it off the body of a dead cop. Waverly notices the pet carrier and opens it, saying she loves dogs. Ampersand jumps out of the carrier and rips Yorick's gas mask off, revealing him to be a man. Waverly is stunned. She pulls out the gun and handcuffs Yorick to the garbage truck, telling him that she is going to sell him off for food. She then resumes putting the dead bodies back in the garbage truck. When she is finished, she finds that Yorick has broken free from the handcuffs.
Jennifer Brown enters an office in the White House and finds Yorick in there waiting for her. Jennifer clutches onto Yorick in disbelief. She is stunned by Yorick and Ampersand suriving. Yorick says he doesn't know why he survived, but that doesn't matter. He's going to Australia to find Beth. Jennifer tells Yorick that as the last man on earth he has a responsibility to the world. Jennifer asks Yorick to find Dr. Allison Mann. She may be able to figure out why he and Ampersand survived. There is suddenly an explosion outside. Jennifer leads Yorick down to a fallout shelter underneath the East Wing. Once Yorick steps inside, Jennifer locks him inside. Yorick starts forcing himself to throw up. Ampersand looks at him, and Yorick tells him that he swallowed a tension tool he can use to break out of the fallout shelter. Yorick isn't able to pick the locks, but he then notices that there is a smoke detector inside, but no sprinklers. Yorick pulls out a lighter.
Agent 355 arrives at the White House and informs Jennifer Brown that she is now the highest ranking surviving female in the U.S. government, which would make her the new President. Jennifer is confused, asking what happened to the Secretary of the Interior. Agent 355 says she was killed by looters. Jennifer asks 355 who she is, and 355 explains that she is an agent for the Culper Ring. Jennifer laughs saying that was George Washington's spy network and they haven't existed since the Revolution. Yorick announces that he will go and find Dr. Mann and then find his girlfriend Beth. Jennifer tells him that's out of the question. She will find a way to bring Dr. Mann and Beth to him. It would be too dangerous for him to leave the White House. Yorick says he survived on his own for months on the road already, he'll be fine. Jennifer says that she is assigning 355 to be his chaperone. 355 objects, saying she should be protecting the president, not her wayward son. Jennifer tells 355 to do her job and protect Yorick.
Tel Aviv, Israel. Alter Tse'lon is in a military base when a phone suddenly rings. She tells her underlings that it is a direct line from a governmental safe house in the United States. Alter answers the phone, but doesn't say anything. A voice on the other end of the line tells her that her only concern should be a young man named Yorick Brown.
Boston, Massachusetts. Yorick and 355 are camped out on the outskirts of town having stolen a couple of motorcycles on their way. Yorick wakes up from a nightmare to find 355 knitting by the fire. Yorick tells 355 that he is hoping they can spend some time looking for his sister Hero while they're in Boston to find Dr. Mann.
Hero is with Victoria (Lara Jean Chorostecki), leader of a man-hating group called the Daughters of the Amazon. They drag a young woman out of bushes and ask where she got her motorcycle since it used to belong to them. The woman spits at Victoria, who then tells Hero to kill the young woman. Hero hesitates and asks the woman again where she got the motorcycle. She says that she bought it from a couple women, one of them wore a gas mask. She says that the women then headed north toward Boston. Victoria once again orders Hero to kill the young woman. Hero kills the woman with a bullet to the head.
Yorick and 355 break into medical facility thanks to Yorick's lock picking abilities. Once inside they find a room with a light on. 355 tells Yorick to wait while she checks it out. 355 finds Dr. Allison Mann and tells her that she is there to assist Allison with her cloning research on direct orders from the President of the United States. Allison says she is done with her cloning research because she believes the birth of the male clone inside of her somehow caused the plague that killed every man on the planet. Yorick then appears. Allison appears more interested in Ampersand than Yorick though. She then says that she could understand how one of them could have survived through some anomaly, but the fact that both Yorick and Ampersand have survived is astonishing. 355 says that they were hoping Allison would be able to figure out why. Allison prepares to draw blood from Yorick and Ampersand, but Ampersand freaks out and jumps out a window. Yorick, 355 and Allison all race out of the building to find Ampersand.
While they are out, Alter Tse'lon and her team enters Dr. Mann's lab. She notices a footprint on the floor, saying that a man was definitely here. Several hours later, Yorick, 355 and Allison have found Ampersand and are walking back to the lab when they find the building has been set on fire. Allison breaks down crying that 12 years worth of research has been destroyed. 355 asks if Allison she has duplicate samples in a contingency site. Allison says she does, but it's in California. The three then discuss what they should do next. 355 suggests they return to Washington DC, Allison suggests they go to California, while Yorick says they should take a ship to Australia so he can reunite with Beth and start repopulating the Earth the old fashioned way.
Yorick trades their motorcycle for passage in the cargo hull of an old diesel train, pretty much the only mode of long distance travel left. When Yorick, 355 and Allison board the train they find that they will be traveling across the country to California in a train car full of pigs. Yorick asks Allison what nationality she is. 355 sighs and tells Yorick to shut up. Allison answers that nationality is American, but her ethnicity is Chinese and Japanese. Clearly she changed her last name to Mann, Allison says, to insult her father. She then says that she is glad the plague killed her father. 355 says that she has to get back to her original mission once she's done with babysitting Yorick. Yorick asks if it has anything to do with the Amulet of Helene, pulling it out of his pocket. 355 takes it back, saying her mission is classified.
In Boston, Hero and Victoria encounter a Russian woman named Natalya (Svetlana Khodchenkova) who says that she knows where men are. Victoria humors Natalya and asks where. Natalya says in space. The Soyuz spacecraft is going to land in Kansas. Victoria thinks the woman is delirious and ignores her. One of her followers says that someone spotted the motorcycle they're looking for, which they now believe was taken by a man. The woman says that someone wearing a gas mask and carrying a monkey drove it to the rail yard. Hero is caught off guard by the monkey comment, and thinks of her brother.
A group of women storm into the train car and order Yorick, 355 and Allison to pay a toll for riding the rails. 355 pulls a gun on them, but Yorick tackles the women. Yorick is sent flying from the train. 355 dispatches the raiders and tells Allison that they need to get off of the train and find Yorick. Allison says she can just ride the train to San Francisco and get to her lab, but 355 says that she has to protect both Yorick and Allison. 355 then tosses Allison from the train, jumping off after her.
Marrisville, Ohio. In the morning, Yorick wakes up, naked, in a bed. A young woman Sonia (Rachel Brosnahan) tells him that she found him and his pet monkey unconscious by a well. He asks why he's naked, and Sonia tells him that his clothes were filthy so she put them in the wash. Allison wakes up in a field and starts looking for 355. She finally finds her, but 355 is bleeding from her head. She uses what little medical supplies she has to bandage 355's head, but tells 355 she needs to get her to a medical facility. 355 gives Allison her gun and tells her that she needs to find Yorick. 355 then passes out.
Boston, Massachusetts. Hero and Victoria find the train conductor and demand to know who she got the motorcycle from. She tells them that she got it from some lady in a gas mask with a monkey that needed to get to California.
Marrisville, Ohio. Sonia brings Yorick back his clothes. Yorick thanks Sonia for her hospitality, but tells her that he has a job to do and friends he needs to find. When he opens the door to leave Sonia's house, there are several dozen women standing outside. Yorick takes a look around and notices that the town is in prestine condition compared to everywhere else he's been. There's even electricity. Sonia tells him that after the plague, the women in town worked to get the grid control station online and set up a hydroponic greenhouse to grow food in. Yorick is stunned that they have fresh food. Allison makes her way down the street and spots Yorick and all the women. Allison says that 355 is hurt badly and they need to go and get her.
Boston, Massachusetts. Hero, armed with a bow and arrow, confronts the lady thugs from the train and asks them about the man they supposedly saw. They are less than coopertative at first, so Hero shoots one of them in the hand with an arrow. She tells them to describe the man. They says they heard his name was Rick-something and he had a monkey with him. They tell her that he fell off the train somewhere in Ohio. Hero tells Victoria that the man they were looking for is her brother. Hero tries to tell Victoria that Yorick is a good guy, but Victoria punches Hero. Victoria tells Hero that anyone and anything with a penis is a monster. Rapists and serial killers, the lot of them. Victoria asks Hero what the Amazons need to do to her brother. Hero says they need to kill him.
Marrisville, Ohio. Yorick, Sonia and Allison take 355 to the town's medical center. Allison says that thankfully 355 just has post-concussion syndrome, but it could have been much worse. The others from Marrisville tell Sonia they are worried about the presence of Yorick and his government friends. Sonia tells them they have nothing to worry about. Yorick and Sonia go for a walk while Allison attends to 355. Yorick and Sonia end up kissing after Sonia attempts to seduce Yorick. Afterward, Sonia confides in Yorick that all the women in town were inmates at the nearby women's prison. They were let out when the plague was hitting so they wouldn't starve to death. Sonia herself was a crack addict who was arrested with her drug dealer boyfriend.
Yorick storms into the medical center, Sonia right behind him. Yorick announces that the town are a bunch of criminals. Sonia apologizes to the others, saying she thought she could trust Yorick. Suddenly, Hero kicks in the door, bow and arrow drawn. She tells Yorick that he has to come with her and her Amazon sisters or she will slaughter the entire town of Marrisville. Yorick is shocked to see his sister. She hits him with the bow, knocking him to the ground. Yorick asks what the hell she's doing. Allison looks outside and sees Victoria and a group of Daughters of the Amazon waiting outside. Victoria announces to all of Marrisville that she just wants the male, and doesn't want to hurt any of the women of Marrisville. Sonia stands between Hero and Yorick and tells Hero that the women of Marrisville will not bow down to Hero or the Daughters of the Amazon. Hero goes outside and tells Victoria that the women in town won't give Yorick up. Yorick suggests he go out and try to reason with his sister. Allison tells him that's crazy, that the Daughters of the Amazon are all starving and clearly brainwashed by Victoria. Yorick asks Allison to watch Ampersand. He gives Sonia a kiss, and exits the building.
Yorick confronts Victoria, Hero and the other Daughters of the Amazon. Hero forces Yorick onto his knees. Just as Victoria is about to shoot Yorick in the head, she stumbles back, an axe sticking out of the side of her head. Yorick looks over to see Sonia surprised the axe hit Victoria. Hero then shoots Sonia with an arrow. Yorick grabs Victoria's gun and points it at Hero's head. Hero asks him to pull the trigger. Allison tells Yorick to put the gun down, she's his sister after all. Yorick says he doesn't care, Hero just executed an innocent woman.
Alter Tse'lon and her team have just stolen a Blackhawk helicopter from a Massachusetts Air National Guard base. She lays down suppressive fire to make their escape. A voice comes on the radio, the same voice from the phone earlier, telling Alter that Yorick Brown was recently located in Marrisville, Ohio.
Yorick, Allison and 355 leave town to protect Marrisville from the outside world. 355 tells Yorick that she is sorry that she wasn't able to protect him in Marrisville. In the Marrisville Penitentiary, Hero and the other Daughters of the Amazon are incarcerate. Hero begins throwing up, finally coughing up a key. Allison tells Yorick and 355 that the women of Marrisville traded a bunch of produce to get them on the next train heading west to California. The conductors are searching the train for freeloaders before they leave. Yorick, Allison and 355 watch as the conductors remove a Russian woman, Natalya, from a cargo car. They train begins to pull away from the station.
220 Miles Above Earth. Three astronauts are onboard the International Space Station. A female astronaut, Ciba Weber (Lauren Ambrose) announces that hydrogen is leaking into the cabin. Two male astronauts onboard the ISS then say that the decision has been made for them. They will have to go back home to Earth now.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Resume: Jack Reynor
Jack Reynor started off his career slowly with Last Resort Films, with only one film in the first 10 seasons of the studio. However, his upcoming film, Y: The Last Man, will be his fourth film in the last four seasons. In this latest edition of Resume, we will take a look at the filmography of one of the studio's biggest rising stars....
Season 5
Drake
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Meirad Tako
Budget: $33,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $28,562,061
Foreign Box Office: $30,989,097
Total Profit: -$24,627,851
Jack Reynor's debut film for the studio is definitely one to be forgotten. A misfire from director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, the film was a box office bomb that also failed to connect with the critics.
Season 11
Suzanne
Director: Sally Potter
Writers: Ann Morrow & Harry Wright
Budget: $28,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $18,907,113
Foreign Box Office: $15,478,189
Total Profit: -$15,671,480
Reynor had to wait all the way until Season 11 to work for the studio again, but when he did it was in the critically adored film, Suzanne. Reynor plays the closest thing the film has to a villain and was praised for his performance along with the rest of the cast, which earned them a Golden Reel nomination for Best Ensemble Cast.
Season 12
Days Without End
Director: Doug Liman
Writer: Jimmy Ellis
Budget: $49,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $38,711,928
Foreign Box Office: $32,362,222
Total Profit: -$23,069,539
In Season 12, Jack Reynor finally played his first lead role for the studio in Doug Liman's war drama. The film received mostly positive reviews, singling out Jack Reynor's strong performance, but the film was a flop at the box office.
Torso
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: John Malone
Budget: $81,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $185,803,155
Foreign Box Office: $88,337,482
Total Profit: $7,232,993
Later in Season 12, Reynor played a major supporting role in the epic crime film, Torso, from director Denis Villeneuve. The big budget thriller managed to earn a profit at the box office. The critics were pretty positive about the film, and it received a total of six Golden Reel nominations, including one for Best Ensemble Cast, ultimately winning one GRA for Best Adaptation.
Up Next: Jack Reynor gets another chance with a lead role in the big budget comic adaptation, Y: The Last Man. If the film is a success at the box office, writer Matt Parker and LRF president Phil Dolan have discussed a series of films based on the comics. After that, Reynor will begin training for a major Marvel Universe role for LRF.
Review:
Season 5
Drake
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Meirad Tako
Budget: $33,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $28,562,061
Foreign Box Office: $30,989,097
Total Profit: -$24,627,851
Jack Reynor's debut film for the studio is definitely one to be forgotten. A misfire from director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, the film was a box office bomb that also failed to connect with the critics.
Season 11
Suzanne
Director: Sally Potter
Writers: Ann Morrow & Harry Wright
Budget: $28,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $18,907,113
Foreign Box Office: $15,478,189
Total Profit: -$15,671,480
Reynor had to wait all the way until Season 11 to work for the studio again, but when he did it was in the critically adored film, Suzanne. Reynor plays the closest thing the film has to a villain and was praised for his performance along with the rest of the cast, which earned them a Golden Reel nomination for Best Ensemble Cast.
Season 12
Days Without End
Director: Doug Liman
Writer: Jimmy Ellis
Budget: $49,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $38,711,928
Foreign Box Office: $32,362,222
Total Profit: -$23,069,539
In Season 12, Jack Reynor finally played his first lead role for the studio in Doug Liman's war drama. The film received mostly positive reviews, singling out Jack Reynor's strong performance, but the film was a flop at the box office.
Torso
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: John Malone
Budget: $81,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $185,803,155
Foreign Box Office: $88,337,482
Total Profit: $7,232,993
Later in Season 12, Reynor played a major supporting role in the epic crime film, Torso, from director Denis Villeneuve. The big budget thriller managed to earn a profit at the box office. The critics were pretty positive about the film, and it received a total of six Golden Reel nominations, including one for Best Ensemble Cast, ultimately winning one GRA for Best Adaptation.
Up Next: Jack Reynor gets another chance with a lead role in the big budget comic adaptation, Y: The Last Man. If the film is a success at the box office, writer Matt Parker and LRF president Phil Dolan have discussed a series of films based on the comics. After that, Reynor will begin training for a major Marvel Universe role for LRF.
Review:
- Highest Grossing Film: Torso ($274,140,637)
- Most Profitable Film: Torso ($7,232,993)
- Most Awarded Film: Suzanne (2 wins, 5 nominations)
- Best Reviewed Film: Suzanne (Metascore: 85)
Friday, January 24, 2020
Release: Born in Brooklyn
Born in Brooklyn
Genre: Drama
Director: Ben Affleck
Writer: Dwight Gallo
Cast: Ben Affleck, Christina Hendricks, Wyatt Oleff, Mackenzie Foy, Billy Crudup, Nick Jonas, Noah Centineo, John Carroll Lynch, Sadie Sink, Thomas Barbusca
Budget: $43,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $72,012,777
Foreign Box Office: $28,560,554
Total Profit: $20,128,404
Reaction: We certainly won’t be complaining about another solid box office performance from a dramatic film. Not a lot of dramas gross over $100 million at the box office without a sub-genre like Action, Sci-Fi or Fantasy.
“Ben Affleck and Dwight Gallo have delivered a tense period drama with a slow burn mentality, deliberately plotting out the story’s development throughout. It’s not an easy type of film to pull off, but Born in Brooklyn managed.” - Pearce Chayka, Daily Telegraph
“Born in Brooklyn features several strong performances from both its young cast and its veteran cast. The top-billed Affleck and Hendricks don’t get the most interesting roles in the film, but they manage to anchor the film with their solid supporting performances. Their interactions serve almost like a Greek chorus for the film, grounding the material.” - Chris Price, Boston Herald
“The development updates for Born in Brooklyn have kept the plot of the film a mystery, so I didn’t know what to expect going into this one. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by the film’s coming of age story set in the rough streets of Vietnam War era Brooklyn.” - Paul Landon, Film School Rejects
Rated R for some strong graphic violence, language, some sexual content and thematic elements
Genre: Drama
Director: Ben Affleck
Writer: Dwight Gallo
Cast: Ben Affleck, Christina Hendricks, Wyatt Oleff, Mackenzie Foy, Billy Crudup, Nick Jonas, Noah Centineo, John Carroll Lynch, Sadie Sink, Thomas Barbusca
Budget: $43,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $72,012,777
Foreign Box Office: $28,560,554
Total Profit: $20,128,404
Reaction: We certainly won’t be complaining about another solid box office performance from a dramatic film. Not a lot of dramas gross over $100 million at the box office without a sub-genre like Action, Sci-Fi or Fantasy.
“Ben Affleck and Dwight Gallo have delivered a tense period drama with a slow burn mentality, deliberately plotting out the story’s development throughout. It’s not an easy type of film to pull off, but Born in Brooklyn managed.” - Pearce Chayka, Daily Telegraph
“Born in Brooklyn features several strong performances from both its young cast and its veteran cast. The top-billed Affleck and Hendricks don’t get the most interesting roles in the film, but they manage to anchor the film with their solid supporting performances. Their interactions serve almost like a Greek chorus for the film, grounding the material.” - Chris Price, Boston Herald
“The development updates for Born in Brooklyn have kept the plot of the film a mystery, so I didn’t know what to expect going into this one. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by the film’s coming of age story set in the rough streets of Vietnam War era Brooklyn.” - Paul Landon, Film School Rejects
In Development
Sabbatical Recovery: Rounding out the cast of Sabbatical Recovery will be Fiona Shaw (Burial Rites, "Killing Eve") and Columbus Short (The Temptations, Armed). Shaw will play the mother of Tobey Maguire's character, while Short's role is undisclosed at this time. Mike Mills is directing the film from a script by HG Hansen.
The Great Beyond: Naomie Harris (Rampage, Collateral Beauty), Ahn Sung-ki (Last Knights, The Divine Fury) and Elsa Pataky (The Fate of the Furious, 12 Strong) have joined Ang Lee's latest, The Great Beyond. They will play the main trio's loved ones back on Earth. Harris plays Idris Elba's wife, Pataky plays Amy Adam's life partner, and Sung-ki plays John Cho's father. Jimmy Ellis and Chad Taylor penned the original screenplay.
Harrelson: David Mackenzie's debut film for LRF has added the likes of John Magaro ("The Umbrella Academy", Overlord), Jacob Pitts ("Justified", "Sneaky Pete"), Stephen Root (Mandingos, The Lady in the Lake) and Daniel Stern (A Following, "Hype") to its cast. Magaro and Pitts will play Texas business men, Root will play a judge, while Stern will play a lawyer. Mo Buck and D.R. Cobb wrote the film based on the film of criminal Charles Harrelson.
The Arrival: Rose Leslie (Reality, Zomebieworld), Juno Temple (Runaway, Life of a Champion), Wilmer Valderrama (Dead Space, "NCIS") and Mike Epps ("Miami Vice", Dolemite Is My Name) have rounded out the cast of the horror film The Arrival. Leslis and Temple will play friends of the main character, Valderrama will play a gas attendant, and Epps will play a local vagrant. David F. Sandberg is directing the film from a script by Jack Slipter.
Sunny Days: Bennett Miller (Pressing Luck, Shake Hands with the Devil) has signed on to direct a biopic of wrestler Tammy Lee Sytch, aka Sunny. Haltson Sage ("Prodigal Son", Late Night) has been cast in the titular role. She will be joined by Lucas Till (Captain Atom 2, The Fog), Austin Butler ("The Shannara Chronicles", Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Jack Black (Hands on a Hard Body, Jumanji: The Next Level). Till will play wrestler Chris Candido, boyfriend of Tammy. Butler will play wrestly Shawn "The Heartbreak Kid" Michaels. Jack Black, meanwhile, will play veteran wrestler Tom Prichard. Jacob Jones (Oh Deer, Zoe Maye) wrote the script.
The Stranger: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Host, The Death of the Honest Man) has been hired to direct an adaptation of Albert Camus' 1942 French novel, The Stranger. Colin Farrell (Prey, Doppelganger 2) has been cast in the lead role. He plays a French man who is informed of his mother's death, which sets the absurd and darkly comedic plot into motion. Marion Cotillard (Crimson Fox, La Resistance) and Alessandro Nivola (Green River, Star Trek: Enterprise) have also signed on to the project. Cotillard will play Farrell's former flame, while Nivola will play Farrell's neighbor. Dominic Wilkins (Bright Neon Lights, How to Survive in Hell) has penned the adaptation.
The Great Beyond: Naomie Harris (Rampage, Collateral Beauty), Ahn Sung-ki (Last Knights, The Divine Fury) and Elsa Pataky (The Fate of the Furious, 12 Strong) have joined Ang Lee's latest, The Great Beyond. They will play the main trio's loved ones back on Earth. Harris plays Idris Elba's wife, Pataky plays Amy Adam's life partner, and Sung-ki plays John Cho's father. Jimmy Ellis and Chad Taylor penned the original screenplay.
Harrelson: David Mackenzie's debut film for LRF has added the likes of John Magaro ("The Umbrella Academy", Overlord), Jacob Pitts ("Justified", "Sneaky Pete"), Stephen Root (Mandingos, The Lady in the Lake) and Daniel Stern (A Following, "Hype") to its cast. Magaro and Pitts will play Texas business men, Root will play a judge, while Stern will play a lawyer. Mo Buck and D.R. Cobb wrote the film based on the film of criminal Charles Harrelson.
The Arrival: Rose Leslie (Reality, Zomebieworld), Juno Temple (Runaway, Life of a Champion), Wilmer Valderrama (Dead Space, "NCIS") and Mike Epps ("Miami Vice", Dolemite Is My Name) have rounded out the cast of the horror film The Arrival. Leslis and Temple will play friends of the main character, Valderrama will play a gas attendant, and Epps will play a local vagrant. David F. Sandberg is directing the film from a script by Jack Slipter.
Sunny Days: Bennett Miller (Pressing Luck, Shake Hands with the Devil) has signed on to direct a biopic of wrestler Tammy Lee Sytch, aka Sunny. Haltson Sage ("Prodigal Son", Late Night) has been cast in the titular role. She will be joined by Lucas Till (Captain Atom 2, The Fog), Austin Butler ("The Shannara Chronicles", Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Jack Black (Hands on a Hard Body, Jumanji: The Next Level). Till will play wrestler Chris Candido, boyfriend of Tammy. Butler will play wrestly Shawn "The Heartbreak Kid" Michaels. Jack Black, meanwhile, will play veteran wrestler Tom Prichard. Jacob Jones (Oh Deer, Zoe Maye) wrote the script.
The Stranger: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Host, The Death of the Honest Man) has been hired to direct an adaptation of Albert Camus' 1942 French novel, The Stranger. Colin Farrell (Prey, Doppelganger 2) has been cast in the lead role. He plays a French man who is informed of his mother's death, which sets the absurd and darkly comedic plot into motion. Marion Cotillard (Crimson Fox, La Resistance) and Alessandro Nivola (Green River, Star Trek: Enterprise) have also signed on to the project. Cotillard will play Farrell's former flame, while Nivola will play Farrell's neighbor. Dominic Wilkins (Bright Neon Lights, How to Survive in Hell) has penned the adaptation.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Now Showing: Born in Brooklyn
Born in Brooklyn
Genre: Drama
Director: Ben Affleck
Writer: Dwight Gallo
Cast: Ben Affleck, Christina Hendricks, Wyatt Oleff, Mackenzie Foy, Billy Crudup, Nick Jonas, Noah Centineo, John Carroll Lynch, Sadie Sink, Thomas Barbusca
Plot: Brooklyn, New York - Summer, 1964. Thomas (Wyatt Oleff) is getting ready to go out and explore the city with his friends when his mother Holly (Christina Hendricks) stops him and asks him to bring lunch to his father at work. Thomas begrudgingly agrees. When Thomas gets down to the Brooklyn Navy Yard he starts looking for his father. Suddenly, a man, fully engulfed in flames runs screaming past Thomas. Thomas' father, Marco (Ben Affleck), pulls him away from the burning man. He asks Thomas what he's doing there and Thomas hands him his lunch. As workers begin trying to extinguish the burning man, Marco walks Thomas away from the incident, saying he's too young to be seeing things like that.
That night, Thomas sits on the fire escape outside his apartment, listening in on his parents talking. Marco says the idiot at the docks lit a cigarette in the paint store, which is full of fumes. Next thing everyone knew, the guy was thrashing around and screaming, then spilled brush cleaner all over himself. Holly says a little prayer for him as she puts some dishes away. Marco tells her not to waste any prayers on that bastard - the guy turned scab three times. Thomas starts climbing down the fire escape to the street below. Marco asks Holly if Thomas has gone to his fruity poetry class yet. Holly says that Thomas enjoys the class and that the teacher, Father Gregory, says Thomas is very advanced even though he's the youngest in the class. Marco says he still thinks it's fruity. Holly chastises Marco. She reminds him that just because Thomas is quiet and likes to read doesn't make him some sissy who gets pushed around. Thomas plays football, and Holly reminds Marco about the time he knocked that Jewish kid's teeth out, and that kid was twice Thomas' size. Marco smiles as Holly and asks again if Thomas is gone. Holly smiles and leads Marco to their bedroom.
Thomas walks down the street and meets the beautiful Laurie Caprini (Mackenzie Foy) outside of her building where she is talking with her neighbor and friend Megan Doyle (Sadie Sink). She greets Thomas and tells him that she just has to grab her notes from last week's class then they can leave. Megan tells them that she will let them carry on with their nerdy evening plans and leaves. Laurie's older brother Christian (Nick Jonas), home on leave from the Marine Corps, jokes about Laurie having a boyfriend. She tells him to shut up as she heads inside for her things. Thomas asks Christian what kind of gun he has in the Marines. Christian tells him he uses an M-14, which he likes since you can fire it automatic like a machine gun. Christian asks Thomas if he heard about that thing at the Navy Yard. Thomas nods and says he was there. Christian says he has to report back tomorrow. Thomas asks how Christian likes serving in the Marines. Christian says he likes it, but he misses being home a lot of the time. He misses his sister and worries that nobody is around to look out for her. Thomas volunteers to help out on that front. Christian laughs and gives Thomas a few dollars. He tells Thomas to buy Laurie a milkshake or something, saying she'll think it's cute. Laurie comes back outside, and she and Thomas start walking down the street.
At the poetry class, Father Gregory (Billy Crudup) starts reading William Blake's The Lamb to the class:
"Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies,
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?"
The poem leaves Thomas shaken. Father Gregory asks the class what they think of Blake's poem. Thomas asks if the poem is saying that God didn't make the tiger. Father Gregory chuckles and says that God made everything, and asks Thomas if God didn't make the tiger, then who did? Thomas says he doesn't know, maybe someone who doesn't make things like lambs. Father Gregory explains that Blake is telling the reader that the tiger and God's creation is so powerful that mortal minds can't grasp its grand scope. Laurie interjects, asking why it couldn't be taken both ways and that Thomas should be able to read the poem how he likes. Father Gregory says he understands what she's saying, but in this case Thomas is simply incorrect in his reading. Before class adjourns, Father Gregory says that they will cover another Blake poem in the next class.
After class, on the walk back home, Laurie tells Thomas that she likes how he interpreted the poem and that he shouldn't let Father Gregory tell him how to read something. Laurie looks Thomas in the eyes and tells him that she likes how he thinks and kisses Thomas on the cheek. Thomas blushes. Laurie sees Megan crying down the block. Laurie calls out for her, but Megan ignores her calls and steps out in front of a moving vehicle. Megan glances over to Laurie just before the vehicle hits her. Laurie bursts out into tears and collapses into Thomas' arms.
Marco and Holly are discussing Megan's death. Marco suggests if she did mean to do it, that maybe she just went crazy. Holly says that she heard Megan was running around with Giovanni Pazzi. She says that young man is trouble, but Marco tells her that isn't something she should go repeating too loudly since everyone knows Giovanni's father is mobbed up. Holly says that Laurie is coming by today to take Thomas into the city to look at some museum. Marco says that sounds fine to him. Holly tells him to not say anything to Laurie about her friend being crazy and getting herself killed. Marco says he knows how to be sensitive, and Holly laughs.
Thomas and Laurie walk down the street, past a crowded restaurant. Giovanni Pazzi (Noah Centineo) is standing out in front of the restaurant, watching them as they walk by. When Laurie notices him, she tries to walk in a way where Thomas will shield her view. Thomas asks Laurie if she knows him. Laurie says she doesn't. Thomas says it's Giovanni Pazzi. He's heard some bad stuff about him. Laurie says that's what she hates about their neighborhood. Everybody is always telling people negative things about others. Laurie says that she just doesn't want to listen to people saying mean things about each other right now. Thomas apologizes to her and then shut up. At the museum, Thomas' attention is captured by a giant dinosaur on display. Laurie jokingly asks why boys are always interested in monsters and kisses Thomas on the cheek. Thomas reaches down and holds Laurie's hand. The two smile as they look up at the dinosaur.
At school, Thomas sees some kids picking on Todd Doyle (Thomas Barbusca), Megan's little brother. Thomas steps in and starts pummeling the bullies, scaring them off. Todd thanks Thomas for the help. Thomas asks Todd if he knows why his sister did what she did. Todd says he can't talk about it, but Thomas says that he won't tell anyone what he tells him. Todd tells Thomas that Megan was fooling around with Giovanni Pazzi and he got her pregnant. Todd says his dad went crazy when Megan told him and he hit her. Todd describes hearing her crying and their father screaming at her and hitting her. Todd says that Megan said she didn't want it to happen, but that Giovanni forced her. That made their father even angrier, and he hit her even more. It was that night that she got hit by the car.
Thomas stops by Laurie's house, but her father Tony (John Carroll Lynch) tells him that she isn't home. At Father Gregory's class, Thomas looks at Laurie and notices that she seems distressed. Father Gregory reads William Blake's counterpart to The Tiger, The Lamb:
"Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee."
While Father Gregory reads, Thomas' eyes remain on Laurie. By the end of the poem, Laurie starts to cry and rushes out of the classroom. Thomas runs after her. Father Gregory is confused by the series of events. Thomas runs out of the building just in time to watch Laurie get on a bus. Thomas tries to run to catch the bus, but it drives away without him as a passenger. Thomas runs all the way to Laurie's house. He knocks on the door, and Laurie's father, Tony, tells Thomas that Laurie already went to sleep. Suddenly a voice from inside cries out for Tony. He rushes to the screaming, and finds his wife on the bathroom floor crying, and Laurie in the bathtub, the water red from her blood. Thomas follows Tony into the bathroom and sees Laurie in the tub, wrists slit from wrist to elbow.
One week later, Holly says to Marco that somebody ought to call the cops on that Giovanni Pazzi boy. Marco says that anyone who does that isn't going to last long. Holly says she doesn't know exactly what should be done, but it breaks her heart that people are just letting it happen, first Megan then Laurie. Marco says that maybe someone ought to tell these girls to keep their legs shut. Holly slaps Marco, calling him an insensitive idiot. She says that he'll never know the kind of fear the girls felt. Holly says that nobody will do anything about it because everyone in the neighborhood is afraid of Giovanni's father. Holly asks Marco why the men of the neighborhood aren't trying to do something to protect the rest of the young girls in the neighborhood. Marco says they did. Holly asks what he means, and Marco tells her that he and some other guys went down to Albert Pazzi's restaurant yesterday to talk to him. Marco describes being escorted into Pazzi's office where they met Pazzi and a dozen of his thugs. One of the other guys calmly and politely told Pazzi about what Giovanni's been going around doing. Marco then tells Holly that Pazzi didn't say a single word, but instead he took out a shotgun and smashed every single one of the guy's fingers with the butt. Marco says he's never been so scared in his life - not even the Korean War could hold a candle to the feeling he had in that office. Holly embraces Marco. Thomas has been eavesdropping from the hallway.
Late that night, Thomas picks the lock on his father's lock box and steals his father's gun out of it. He heads down the street and down to the Pazzi's restaurant. He watches from an alley across the street as some of Pazzi's thugs tell Giovanni that some girl called for him and asked to meet up and hand him an address. Giovanni smiles and starts walking down the street. Thomas follows, being sure to stick to the shadows. Giovanni stops at a corner and looks at the address he has written down. As he is standing there, scratching his head in confusion, Christian emerges from the shadows and knocks Giovanni to the ground with one punch. Christian keeps punching until Giovanni's face is a mess of blood, pulp and shattered teeth. Christian grabs Giovanni's leg and begins dragging the unconscious Giovanni down the street and down to Washington Cemetery. Thomas follows from a distance, being careful to not be seen or heard. Christian tosses Giovanni down into an empty grave that has already been dug up. Giovanni wakes up upon hitting the cold dirt. Thomas hides behind a gravestone as Christian pulls out a gas can and douses Giovanni with gasoline. Giovanni begins screaming for help. Christian lights a match and tosses it down into the hole. Giovanni screams as he burns to death.
Albert Pazzi is found dead not long after, with the rumor around the neighborhood being that his heart gave out when the police asked him to identify Giovanni's burnt remains. The entire neighborhood attends Albert Pazzi's funeral out of respect, or fear. Thomas stands with his parents as they watch the funeral from a respectful distance. Thomas walks away and looks around the cemetery until he finds Laurie's grave. He sits down next to it and begins talking to her. He says that her brother must have been AWOL, but clearly Christian had some business to attend to. Thomas tells Laurie's grave that Christian is definitely a tiger, but he expresses worry that he may have been born a lamb himself.
Marco asks Holly where Thomas ran off to. She points off in the distance to Thomas visiting Laurie's grave. Marco says it's time to go now that the funeral is over, but Holly tells him they should give Thomas a few more minutes.
Genre: Drama
Director: Ben Affleck
Writer: Dwight Gallo
Cast: Ben Affleck, Christina Hendricks, Wyatt Oleff, Mackenzie Foy, Billy Crudup, Nick Jonas, Noah Centineo, John Carroll Lynch, Sadie Sink, Thomas Barbusca
Plot: Brooklyn, New York - Summer, 1964. Thomas (Wyatt Oleff) is getting ready to go out and explore the city with his friends when his mother Holly (Christina Hendricks) stops him and asks him to bring lunch to his father at work. Thomas begrudgingly agrees. When Thomas gets down to the Brooklyn Navy Yard he starts looking for his father. Suddenly, a man, fully engulfed in flames runs screaming past Thomas. Thomas' father, Marco (Ben Affleck), pulls him away from the burning man. He asks Thomas what he's doing there and Thomas hands him his lunch. As workers begin trying to extinguish the burning man, Marco walks Thomas away from the incident, saying he's too young to be seeing things like that.
That night, Thomas sits on the fire escape outside his apartment, listening in on his parents talking. Marco says the idiot at the docks lit a cigarette in the paint store, which is full of fumes. Next thing everyone knew, the guy was thrashing around and screaming, then spilled brush cleaner all over himself. Holly says a little prayer for him as she puts some dishes away. Marco tells her not to waste any prayers on that bastard - the guy turned scab three times. Thomas starts climbing down the fire escape to the street below. Marco asks Holly if Thomas has gone to his fruity poetry class yet. Holly says that Thomas enjoys the class and that the teacher, Father Gregory, says Thomas is very advanced even though he's the youngest in the class. Marco says he still thinks it's fruity. Holly chastises Marco. She reminds him that just because Thomas is quiet and likes to read doesn't make him some sissy who gets pushed around. Thomas plays football, and Holly reminds Marco about the time he knocked that Jewish kid's teeth out, and that kid was twice Thomas' size. Marco smiles as Holly and asks again if Thomas is gone. Holly smiles and leads Marco to their bedroom.
Thomas walks down the street and meets the beautiful Laurie Caprini (Mackenzie Foy) outside of her building where she is talking with her neighbor and friend Megan Doyle (Sadie Sink). She greets Thomas and tells him that she just has to grab her notes from last week's class then they can leave. Megan tells them that she will let them carry on with their nerdy evening plans and leaves. Laurie's older brother Christian (Nick Jonas), home on leave from the Marine Corps, jokes about Laurie having a boyfriend. She tells him to shut up as she heads inside for her things. Thomas asks Christian what kind of gun he has in the Marines. Christian tells him he uses an M-14, which he likes since you can fire it automatic like a machine gun. Christian asks Thomas if he heard about that thing at the Navy Yard. Thomas nods and says he was there. Christian says he has to report back tomorrow. Thomas asks how Christian likes serving in the Marines. Christian says he likes it, but he misses being home a lot of the time. He misses his sister and worries that nobody is around to look out for her. Thomas volunteers to help out on that front. Christian laughs and gives Thomas a few dollars. He tells Thomas to buy Laurie a milkshake or something, saying she'll think it's cute. Laurie comes back outside, and she and Thomas start walking down the street.
At the poetry class, Father Gregory (Billy Crudup) starts reading William Blake's The Lamb to the class:
"Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies,
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?"
The poem leaves Thomas shaken. Father Gregory asks the class what they think of Blake's poem. Thomas asks if the poem is saying that God didn't make the tiger. Father Gregory chuckles and says that God made everything, and asks Thomas if God didn't make the tiger, then who did? Thomas says he doesn't know, maybe someone who doesn't make things like lambs. Father Gregory explains that Blake is telling the reader that the tiger and God's creation is so powerful that mortal minds can't grasp its grand scope. Laurie interjects, asking why it couldn't be taken both ways and that Thomas should be able to read the poem how he likes. Father Gregory says he understands what she's saying, but in this case Thomas is simply incorrect in his reading. Before class adjourns, Father Gregory says that they will cover another Blake poem in the next class.
After class, on the walk back home, Laurie tells Thomas that she likes how he interpreted the poem and that he shouldn't let Father Gregory tell him how to read something. Laurie looks Thomas in the eyes and tells him that she likes how he thinks and kisses Thomas on the cheek. Thomas blushes. Laurie sees Megan crying down the block. Laurie calls out for her, but Megan ignores her calls and steps out in front of a moving vehicle. Megan glances over to Laurie just before the vehicle hits her. Laurie bursts out into tears and collapses into Thomas' arms.
Marco and Holly are discussing Megan's death. Marco suggests if she did mean to do it, that maybe she just went crazy. Holly says that she heard Megan was running around with Giovanni Pazzi. She says that young man is trouble, but Marco tells her that isn't something she should go repeating too loudly since everyone knows Giovanni's father is mobbed up. Holly says that Laurie is coming by today to take Thomas into the city to look at some museum. Marco says that sounds fine to him. Holly tells him to not say anything to Laurie about her friend being crazy and getting herself killed. Marco says he knows how to be sensitive, and Holly laughs.
Thomas and Laurie walk down the street, past a crowded restaurant. Giovanni Pazzi (Noah Centineo) is standing out in front of the restaurant, watching them as they walk by. When Laurie notices him, she tries to walk in a way where Thomas will shield her view. Thomas asks Laurie if she knows him. Laurie says she doesn't. Thomas says it's Giovanni Pazzi. He's heard some bad stuff about him. Laurie says that's what she hates about their neighborhood. Everybody is always telling people negative things about others. Laurie says that she just doesn't want to listen to people saying mean things about each other right now. Thomas apologizes to her and then shut up. At the museum, Thomas' attention is captured by a giant dinosaur on display. Laurie jokingly asks why boys are always interested in monsters and kisses Thomas on the cheek. Thomas reaches down and holds Laurie's hand. The two smile as they look up at the dinosaur.
At school, Thomas sees some kids picking on Todd Doyle (Thomas Barbusca), Megan's little brother. Thomas steps in and starts pummeling the bullies, scaring them off. Todd thanks Thomas for the help. Thomas asks Todd if he knows why his sister did what she did. Todd says he can't talk about it, but Thomas says that he won't tell anyone what he tells him. Todd tells Thomas that Megan was fooling around with Giovanni Pazzi and he got her pregnant. Todd says his dad went crazy when Megan told him and he hit her. Todd describes hearing her crying and their father screaming at her and hitting her. Todd says that Megan said she didn't want it to happen, but that Giovanni forced her. That made their father even angrier, and he hit her even more. It was that night that she got hit by the car.
Thomas stops by Laurie's house, but her father Tony (John Carroll Lynch) tells him that she isn't home. At Father Gregory's class, Thomas looks at Laurie and notices that she seems distressed. Father Gregory reads William Blake's counterpart to The Tiger, The Lamb:
"Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee."
While Father Gregory reads, Thomas' eyes remain on Laurie. By the end of the poem, Laurie starts to cry and rushes out of the classroom. Thomas runs after her. Father Gregory is confused by the series of events. Thomas runs out of the building just in time to watch Laurie get on a bus. Thomas tries to run to catch the bus, but it drives away without him as a passenger. Thomas runs all the way to Laurie's house. He knocks on the door, and Laurie's father, Tony, tells Thomas that Laurie already went to sleep. Suddenly a voice from inside cries out for Tony. He rushes to the screaming, and finds his wife on the bathroom floor crying, and Laurie in the bathtub, the water red from her blood. Thomas follows Tony into the bathroom and sees Laurie in the tub, wrists slit from wrist to elbow.
One week later, Holly says to Marco that somebody ought to call the cops on that Giovanni Pazzi boy. Marco says that anyone who does that isn't going to last long. Holly says she doesn't know exactly what should be done, but it breaks her heart that people are just letting it happen, first Megan then Laurie. Marco says that maybe someone ought to tell these girls to keep their legs shut. Holly slaps Marco, calling him an insensitive idiot. She says that he'll never know the kind of fear the girls felt. Holly says that nobody will do anything about it because everyone in the neighborhood is afraid of Giovanni's father. Holly asks Marco why the men of the neighborhood aren't trying to do something to protect the rest of the young girls in the neighborhood. Marco says they did. Holly asks what he means, and Marco tells her that he and some other guys went down to Albert Pazzi's restaurant yesterday to talk to him. Marco describes being escorted into Pazzi's office where they met Pazzi and a dozen of his thugs. One of the other guys calmly and politely told Pazzi about what Giovanni's been going around doing. Marco then tells Holly that Pazzi didn't say a single word, but instead he took out a shotgun and smashed every single one of the guy's fingers with the butt. Marco says he's never been so scared in his life - not even the Korean War could hold a candle to the feeling he had in that office. Holly embraces Marco. Thomas has been eavesdropping from the hallway.
Late that night, Thomas picks the lock on his father's lock box and steals his father's gun out of it. He heads down the street and down to the Pazzi's restaurant. He watches from an alley across the street as some of Pazzi's thugs tell Giovanni that some girl called for him and asked to meet up and hand him an address. Giovanni smiles and starts walking down the street. Thomas follows, being sure to stick to the shadows. Giovanni stops at a corner and looks at the address he has written down. As he is standing there, scratching his head in confusion, Christian emerges from the shadows and knocks Giovanni to the ground with one punch. Christian keeps punching until Giovanni's face is a mess of blood, pulp and shattered teeth. Christian grabs Giovanni's leg and begins dragging the unconscious Giovanni down the street and down to Washington Cemetery. Thomas follows from a distance, being careful to not be seen or heard. Christian tosses Giovanni down into an empty grave that has already been dug up. Giovanni wakes up upon hitting the cold dirt. Thomas hides behind a gravestone as Christian pulls out a gas can and douses Giovanni with gasoline. Giovanni begins screaming for help. Christian lights a match and tosses it down into the hole. Giovanni screams as he burns to death.
Albert Pazzi is found dead not long after, with the rumor around the neighborhood being that his heart gave out when the police asked him to identify Giovanni's burnt remains. The entire neighborhood attends Albert Pazzi's funeral out of respect, or fear. Thomas stands with his parents as they watch the funeral from a respectful distance. Thomas walks away and looks around the cemetery until he finds Laurie's grave. He sits down next to it and begins talking to her. He says that her brother must have been AWOL, but clearly Christian had some business to attend to. Thomas tells Laurie's grave that Christian is definitely a tiger, but he expresses worry that he may have been born a lamb himself.
Marco asks Holly where Thomas ran off to. She points off in the distance to Thomas visiting Laurie's grave. Marco says it's time to go now that the funeral is over, but Holly tells him they should give Thomas a few more minutes.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 14 Round 6)
This was definitely one of the biggest rounds of the season, thanks to the biggest film of the season, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow. Here's The Roundup....
3. Amber Heard
I think she was the absolute perfect choice for the title role in Julie. She has an alluring quality that makes things believable. That's a creature I'd fall in love with too.
2. The Letter J
I was surprised by the quality of the story here. I think Alex Conn all too often falls in love with a character and forgets to develop the characters and plot, but that wasn't the case here.
1. Superman: The Man of Tomorrow
John Malone's superhero debut lived up to the expectations in my opinion. It gave us a different version of Superman than we've really seen before, and felt grounded while still fitting into the overall DC Comics Universe. I'm excited to see where he goes next.
3. Miles Teller
He just seemed miscast in Julie. He can be a strong actor given the right material, but he seemed on autopilot here. Teller is better at angrier, more aggressive characters. This role felt like his role from Siren all over again.
2. Julie
I would say I didn't quite like the story, but I've watched the film multiple times now and there doesn't really appear to be much of a story. Julie is discovered and she explains and shows her condition, but that's about it.
1. Soundtracks
Only one soundtrack in the last four rounds. I did not like the soundtrack to The Letter J. The music just didn't seem to fit the tone of the story. Maybe if the story wa set in the mid-90s all of the Nirvana would make sense, but in the present day it is more distracting than anything else.
3. Amber Heard
I think she was the absolute perfect choice for the title role in Julie. She has an alluring quality that makes things believable. That's a creature I'd fall in love with too.
2. The Letter J
I was surprised by the quality of the story here. I think Alex Conn all too often falls in love with a character and forgets to develop the characters and plot, but that wasn't the case here.
1. Superman: The Man of Tomorrow
John Malone's superhero debut lived up to the expectations in my opinion. It gave us a different version of Superman than we've really seen before, and felt grounded while still fitting into the overall DC Comics Universe. I'm excited to see where he goes next.
3. Miles Teller
He just seemed miscast in Julie. He can be a strong actor given the right material, but he seemed on autopilot here. Teller is better at angrier, more aggressive characters. This role felt like his role from Siren all over again.
2. Julie
I would say I didn't quite like the story, but I've watched the film multiple times now and there doesn't really appear to be much of a story. Julie is discovered and she explains and shows her condition, but that's about it.
1. Soundtracks
Only one soundtrack in the last four rounds. I did not like the soundtrack to The Letter J. The music just didn't seem to fit the tone of the story. Maybe if the story wa set in the mid-90s all of the Nirvana would make sense, but in the present day it is more distracting than anything else.
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