Every Pokémon fan has dreamt of riding one of the series’ monsters instead of using more mundane methods of transportation. Cars, trains, boats, and planes are just not as cool as riding a Pokémon friend to get where you need to go. Well, Toyota has made at least one rideable Pokémon a reality, but it’s unlikely any…
Whenever I get asked to recommend a good horror movie- I immediately take into consideration who I’m recommending it to. The key to a good movie recommendation is to compliment the other person’s tastes and suggest something that will comfortably expand their horizons. It also helps if the movie you’re recommending is criminally underseen for how incredibly well-made it is. Here’s what I mean- In 2020- yes, THAT 2020- the entire world was affected by unprecedented events that caused the everyday lives of everyday people to dramatically change. One of the many industries that suffered during this time was the Movie Theater industry. It was rough. It was stale. It was fucking Groundhog Day. At first, there were delays- movies just weren’t coming out at all. Then, some that were meant for theaters and Imax ended up going straight to streaming, delays, delays, more delays. And before you knew it, the days of limited theatrical releases were starting to come back. Movies were starting to exist outside of our living rooms again and for the everyday JoBlo- that meant new stories and adventures awaited us at the happiest place on earth, the movies. Only… Now people weren’t going. Listen, I have a movie recommendation that I simply cannot sit on any longer- You need to watch Gretel & Hansel. Yes, I know that the cult classic Jeremy Renner-led Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is going to spammed in the comments of this video, and yes, it is an underrated and fun gem that deserves more respect but no- I’m not talking about that one. Although… Comment below if you’d want to see that. Instead, today I’m going to tell you why I think Gretel & Hansel (watch it HERE) is a forgotten masterpiece and why you should revisit it- after this video.
Gretel & Hansel is the 2020 horror fairytale starring Sophia Lillis as Gretel and Samuel Leaky as Hansel. The film was written by Rob Hayes and directed by Oz Perkins, who happens to be the son of iconic Psycho actor- Anthony Perkins- although, he is a talented filmmaker in his own right with film’s like The Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. I know for sure that Tyler is going to notice that I once again found a way to talk about Hitchcock movies on this channel so, leave a like on this video so I don’t get sent off into the woods.
Gretel & Hansel is a similar take on the familiar fairytale but this time told with cold and sadistic intent. It mainly focuses on the character of Gretel who, after refusing to sell herself to a wealthy businessman, is forced by her extremely scary Mother to take Hansel and journey deep into the forest to find themselves new lives. This movie doesn’t waste any time sending these kids off either. The movie’s plot is fairly simple, and I’d argue that it’s not exactly the most important thing to the viewing experience for this particular film. While venturing through the cold and foggy woods, Gretel and Hansel will encounter the dangers of being young and vulnerable in a very evil place. I’ve heard some criticism that the movie is boring and to that I say- What in the hell are you talking about? As if this movie’s gorgeous and rich cinematography wasn’t enough (which it is- and we WILL be covering that later), the movie drops two kids off in the middle of nowhere 5 minutes in and they’re immediately in danger with scary monsters, suspicious strangers, and some very questionable mushrooms being the least of their worries.
After some close encounters with the threats that lurk in the forest, Gretel begins experiencing hallucinations that guide her and Hansel to a cozy cottage in the middle of nowhere. The kids are starving and whoever lives in the house seems to have prepared enough food to feed a giant family. Now, if you think you know what happens next, don’t you dare be so sure. See, this is where the real darkness of the movie ensues. Inside this home is an old and mysterious witch with black fingertips and a sinister grin- and while Hansel quickly trusts her, Gretel isn’t so quick to succumb to the temptations and hunger that motivate the siblings.
You may be thinking that the witch fattens up the kids and eats them and that’s the movie- but buddy, you’re wrong again. Instead, this film takes the approach of having Gretel’s arrival at the witch’s cottage be a place where she can learn more about her hallucinations and why she has them. Would it surprise you to learn that Gretel herself is a witch? While staying at the old woman’s home, Gretel will learn things she never expected or knew she was capable of and when the time comes, she’ll have to use those talents to defeat her own mentor and save her brother from a horrific death. Does that sound boring to you?!
This movie establishes at the beginning what seems to be an origin story for the witch in the film- but instead it turns out that Holda, the witch, was actually the mother of the little girl from the story, and she killed and ate her own daughter before continuing the same ritual for many years. Until now. Gretel not only learns about her supernatural abilities, but she also learns from Holda herself about the internal power that exists inside of her as a person, and as a woman.
Now, why should you watch it if you haven’t seen it? And why should you watch it AGAIN if you have? This movie offers you all the slow burn intensity that you want from a folklore period piece fairytale, but it also gives you the creatures, frightening moments, and adventure that keep you invested. And because I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it enough- this movie’s visual style is a fucking treat. It’s shot in the very vintage looking 1:55:1 aspect ratio which usually I can kind of give or take but in this case, it just HAD to be done like this. The use of wide-angle lenses and distorting fisheye clashing with the tight aspect ratio give a liberating yet claustrophobic look that really connect you to these characters and how they’re feeling being both free to roam the world and trapped in the woods of never-ending trees. The color grading, the wardrobe, the composition, it’s all stunning. If Wes Anderson shot a horror movie, I think some of it would look a lot like this.
I also need to talk about this movie’s score. I’m in the process of listening to it on loop for like the millionth time this month and I’m still in love with it. Robin or “Rob” Coudert did the musical tracks for this movie and the use of retro synth risers and youthful and somehow whimsical orchestral themes are brilliant and I’d love to hear what you guys who are into movie scores think about it. It makes the slow moments of the film that don’t feature much dialogue still very stimulating to watch. And that’s the word for the viewing experience of this movie- stimulating. We of course can’t forget Sophia Lillis’ excellent performance as she carries much of the film on her shoulders and does so with grace and subtlety. I always look forward to seeing this actress in any project and this one is well-suited to her and her acting sensibilities. Of course, Alice Krige does a wonderful job as the oddly charming yet still horrifying witch. I loved her in this movie, and I think she gave a perfectly committed and weird performance that stands out among witches in movies.
Oz Perkins is a name that I’d like to see attached to more movies in general. I mean, the guy was in Legally Blonde for like 2 minutes and has made some of my favorite horror films in the last decade, but this movie shows me that he’s a creative mind that we should definitely be on the lookout for. In fact, if you’re still not convinced about this movie- look at some of the names attached to this thing and tell me you’re not curious:
Rob Hayes co-wrote the film and you’d know him as the writer of popular TV series, Chewing Gum. It was produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones who was behind Sinister, and also produced by Autopsy of Jane Doe producer, Fred Berger. You know what’s consistent across all of these people? They make REALLY good shit. Director Oz Perkins had this to say about the film: “It’s awfully faithful to the original story. It’s got really only three principal characters: Hansel, Gretel, and the Witch. We tried to find a way to make it more of a coming of age story. I wanted Gretel to be somewhat older than Hansel, so it didn’t feel like two 12-year-olds – rather a 16-year-old and an 8-year-old. There was more of a feeling like Gretel having to take Hansel around everywhere she goes, and how that can impede one’s own evolution, how our attachments and the things that we love can sometimes get in the way of our growth.”
Gretel & Hansel hits you in the senses from the very opening all the way through to the time the credits roll. You’ll be looking at beautifully composed images with top-tier acting from the brilliant Sophia Lillis and a musical score that will chill you to the core- all while maintaining a sense of child-like adventure that weaves a crafty, beautifully twisted, and unnervingly forgotten masterpiece. If you’re in the mood for a dreamy fairytale with dark and twisted scares, beautiful music and even more beautiful visuals- revisit this one for yourself, and maybe consider sleeping with the light on.
Two previous episodes of Revisited can be seen below. To see more of our shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals channel – and subscribe while you’re at it!
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There is a satisfaction that comes from being told you are too weak to face a challenge and then quickly handing your enemy their defeat on a silver platter regardless. Being the David to your enemy’s Goliath and leveraging not just physical but strategic power to overcome the odds is a thrill that never gets old.…
There is a satisfaction that comes from being told you are too weak to face a challenge and then quickly handing your enemy their defeat on a silver platter regardless. Being the David to your enemy’s Goliath and leveraging not just physical but strategic power to overcome the odds is a thrill that never gets old.…
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s in-universe card game Queen’s Blood has taken players by storm. Whether it’s the thrill of the hunt for a new card, or besting your opponent with a broken deck, the Final Fantasy series has another standout card game to go alongside Final Fantasy VIII’s revered Triple Triad and Final…
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s in-universe card game Queen’s Blood has taken players by storm. Whether it’s the thrill of the hunt for a new card, or besting your opponent with a broken deck, the Final Fantasy series has another standout card game to go alongside Final Fantasy VIII’s revered Triple Triad and Final…
Two of the most distinct voices in music history are undoubtedly Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. But if you can believe it, the story goes that the two never actually met. But Timothée Chalamet wants to change that – at least on the big screen, saying he wants to resurrect Austin Butler’s Elvis for his Dylan biopic. Oh come on, Timmy, let Austin finally shake that voice!
Cuing his Dune: Part Two co-star up, Butler said of the upcoming Dylan biopic during an interview with NME, “I can’t wait for that film…I wish I could be on set every day to just watch the magic happen,” to which Chalmet responded, “I wish you were in it!” before outlining why Elvis should be worked into the Dylan movie. “There’s an Elvis character in the Johnny Cash biopic [Walk The Line]. It’s really brief, it’s very brief, but I was kind of wishing we could create a musical cinematic universe.” Elvis was played by Tyler Hilton in Walk the Line, the movie which earned Joaquin Phoenix his first Best Actor nomination.
Like Austin Butler in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Timothée Chalamet does his own singing as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown. Although it has faced delays due to everything from the Covid-19 pandemic to last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike, the movie is still moving forward, giving Chalamet a way to capitalize on the success of Dune: Part Two and Mangold a chance to redeem himself after Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Despite their prominence – and the long-held stance that the 1970 song “Went to See the Gypsy” was about a meeting between Dylan and Elvis – one Robert Zimmerman has said that the King of Folk never actually personally encountered the King of Rock and Roll. “I never met Elvis, because I didn’t want to meet Elvis. Elvis was in his Sixties movie period, and he was just crankin’ ’em out and knockin’ ’em off, one after another. And Elvis had kind of fallen out of favor in the Sixties.” Even still, that doesn’t mean Elvis couldn’t appear in the Dylan movie.
Would you like to see Austin Butler bring back his Elvis for a small role in Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan movie? Or could Butler use an even longer break from the voice?
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Marvel Studios has a lot of course-correcting ahead of it. The company is recovering from a year of flops, and with the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Loki Season 2, even their loyal fans have not received the rest of their projects well in the past year or so. Disney CEO Bob Iger has addressed that the studio has previously concentrated more on quantity instead of quality and has vowed to pull back on the amount of project output so the movies and TV shows do not suffer. He has recently even admitted that Disney has secretly “killed a few projects already that we just didn’t feel were strong enough.”
Another big looming shadow on the company is the controversial case of the once rising star, Jonathan Majors. Majors was let go from Marvel as Kang when he was found guilty in his assault case and many were waiting to see how Marvel would proceed. A popular rumor being whispered in many ears is the notion of Academy Award hopeful Colman Domingo getting cast in the role as the Conqueror. Vanity Fair recently sat with Domingo (via World of Reel) and one of the topics the covered was his involvement with the Kang recasting. Domingo would not deny the rumors, but would interestingly play dumb on whether or not he knows if he’s signed on to play the MCU villain.
Colman would play coy on the topic, saying,
Do I know this to be true or not? I actually don’t know. I feel like my team doesn’t bring me something unless it’s real. So I don’t know. I could be in conversation, but I’m not sure. I would welcome a conversation around it.”
He also added, “There’s hearsay, there’s conversations, but I’m not even sure because I feel like nothing comes to me until something’s real. But I’d be down with it […] I can’t tell if it’s true or not.” Colman’s schedule is already filling up with many projects as the industry takes notice of his performances. He’s been announced to be cast in a couple of new musical biopics — one as Nat King Cole, which he will also direct, “I’ve been working on it quietly for a few years. It’s something I’m looking forward to putting together with some great partners.” And the other big project will be his portrayal of the infamous father of Michael Jackson, Joe Jackson, in Antoine Fuqua’s Michael. Should Domingo sign with Marvel, he will also be looking at something like a four-year commitment to various projects with the character.
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Human sacrifice! The original Ghostbusters and reboot characters living together! Mass hysteria! Ahead of the release of Frozen Empire, Bill Murray, who of course plays Peter Venkman in the Ghostbusters franchise, has some thoughts about those carrying the proton pack…with his trademark snide, of course.
Sitting alongside Annie Potts (secretary Janine Melnitz) and Ernie Hudson (recruit Winston Zeddemore) in a promotional piece, Bill Murray joked, “This different generation, they are nice people, but they’re not as much fun as we are, you know that,” prompting him to roll his eyes and his co-stars to laugh.
Bill Murray has a rocky history with the Ghosbusters movies, but he has proven to be genuinely proud of how the franchise has developed, even after claiming he was duped into signing on for Ghostbusters II. Murray truly came around with 2021’s Afterlife, not only reprising Venkman for the first time since the 1989 sequel (he played an unrelated character in the 2016 reboot, as did a number of other ‘84/’89 stars) but championing Jason Reitman’s movie as an appropriate throwback to the original movies.
As per Sony, “In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.” The movie is due out on March 22nd, less than three months from the 40th anniversary of the first movie.
While it’s impossible to match the original Ghostbusters – Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Hudson and the late Harold Ramis – Afterlife did a fine enough job of at least paying tribute to that which came before it. Now, with Frozen Empire taking the action back to New York City after a detour in Oklahoma, this might be time for the ultimate tribute to the iconic busters of spooks, specters and ghosts.
Do you think the new Ghostbusters are properly carrying on the legacy of the original cast or has the series worn out its welcome? Give us your take below!
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Plot: Based on the Edgar Award-winning non-fiction book from author James L. Swanson, “Manhunt” is a conspiracy thriller about one of the best known but least understood crimes in history, the astonishing story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
Review: The life and untimely death of Abraham Lincoln have been fodder for film and television since the invention of the medium. Before that, books and stage plays told the story of the President who ended the Civil War, abolished slavery, and died unceremoniously. But, in all of the tales of Honest Abe and his killer, John Wilkes Booth, few have chronicled the tumultuous aftermath between Ford’s Theater and the capture of those who perpetrated the heinous murder. Aside from Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, which focused on the trial of Booth’s accomplices, we have never gotten a full retelling of the events. Manhunt dramatizes the events and flashes back and forth over the six years before and four years after Abraham Lincoln’s death. It is a fascinating tale that brings various theories to light while focusing on historical figures whose importance has long gone underappreciated. Led by Tobias Menzies as War Secretary Edwin Stanton, Manhunt is a well-made political thriller that has a lot to say but spends too much time on some plot threads that slow down the pacing.
Manhunt wastes no time in getting events underway as Abraham Lincoln (Hamish Linklater) is shot within the first half of the premiere episode. As the tension builds leading towards the fateful hour in Ford’s Theater, none of the events linearly take place. The pilot shifts between the minutes, hours, and days leading up to Booth shooting Lincoln and gives us the vantage of not only John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle) but also his accomplices David Herold (Will Harrison) and Lewis Powell (Spencer Treat Clark). With multiple assassinations plotted simultaneously, including failed attempts on Vice President Andrew Johnson (Glen Morshower) and William H. Seward (Larry Pine), the chaotic proceedings fall on Edwin Stanton to pull together. Leveraging lead investigator Lafayette Baker (Patton Oswalt), Manhunt plays with many storytelling conventions right off the bat. At first, the method of Booth’s escape from Washington to rural Maryland and the care of Samuel Mudd (Matt Walsh) feels like a tense thriller, but then the tone shifts.
In the immediate hours after the death of Lincoln, Edwin Stanton takes on the role of trying to keep the tenuous peace between the Union and the Confederacy. This means quickly trying to find the assassin who killed his close friend while also helping to run the recently unified country. Despite his high ranking in the Cabinet, Stanton takes on a detective role as he visits the crime scene and dispatches others to investigate. At times, Manhunt echoes the police procedural format of Law & Order but set in the 19th century. There are also elements of spycraft on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line which gives way to long-running conspiracy theories about the assassination plot baked into the narrative of this series. Was John Wilkes Booth tasked with the murder by Confederacy President Jefferson Davis? Was Vice President Andrew Johnson somehow involved? Were Booth’s co-conspirators Mary Surratt (Cary Lazar) and John Surratt (Joshua Mikel) more involved than at first though? All of these are addressed throughout the series.
Knowing the main timeline of the events depicted in this series, I was surprised to learn just how much I did not know about some of the historical context of the era. Abraham Lincoln is often depicted as a great orator and brilliant leader, but Hamish Linklater portrays him as less polished and more of an everyman. Lili Taylor evokes Mary Todd Lincoln’s manic state of mind. Anthony Boyle follows up his excellent turn in the AppleTV+ series Masters of the Air with a menacing portrayal of Booth while comedic actor Matt Walsh is quite good as Samuel Mudd. Tobias Menzies is excellent as Edwin Stanton, playing him as the beacon of hope we often associate with Lincoln. Lovie Simone is also a pleasant addition here as Mary Simms, Dr. Mudd’s slave who becomes a key witness during his trial. Everyone in this cast does solid work with a few exceptions. As much as I love Patton Oswalt, his inclusion here sticks out noticeably. While Oswalt has proven himself a solid dramatic actor, he does not fit the part of Lafayette Baker.
Clocking in at seven, hour-long episodes based on the book by James L. Swanson, Manhunt‘s propensity to flash back and forth in the timeline can be quite jarring with some episodes shifting four years in the past to five minutes before the assassination followed by three days before within fifteen minutes. Created by Monica Beletsky (Fargo, The Leftovers, Friday Night Lights), Manhunt spends a great deal of its running time on the search for Booth and the capture of his associates with the first episode reserved for the assassination and the final for the trial. The intervening five episodes, written by Beletsky as well as Tim Brittain, Ben H. Winters, and Jan Oxenberg, build up the repercussions of Lincoln’s death and how divided the country was after the end of the war. Directing duties are split on the series between Carl Franklin (Mindhunter), John Dahl (Rounders), and Eva Sørhaug (Let the Right One In). All three directors manage to elevate the material to a cinematic level without sacrificing the character focus, but the series still feels like it spends a lot of time on supporting stories that pad out the main narrative when they should have been the focus of a story all their own.
Manhunt is a unique dive into a specific chapter of American history that has not been adapted for the screen to this degree. It plays loose with some historical details and wallows in conspiracy theories a bit too much which undermines the powerful supporting stories that should have been at the forefront of this tale. In telling the stories of the former slaves and others impacted by the death of Abraham Lincoln, actors like Lovie Simone and Betty Gabriel shine while Tobias Menzies makes a case for getting more substantial leading roles like he does here. As good as those aspects of Manhunt are, a heavy reliance on the titular search for John Wilkes Booth makes what came before and after feel perfunctory. The miscasting of Hamish Linklater and Patton Oswalt notwithstanding, this is a solidly constructed period procedural. Manhunt is good but could have been much better.
Manhunt premieres on March 15th on AppleTV+.
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