If you hadn’t heard, there was a massive data leak out of Game Freak, the team that makes the Pokémon RPGs and has its hands in most of the multimedia franchise in one way or another. As files and information gradually surface, most of what we’ve seen so far has been early assets and concept art for old games over the…
If you hadn’t heard, there was a massive data leak out of Game Freak, the team that makes the Pokémon RPGs and has its hands in most of the multimedia franchise in one way or another. As files and information gradually surface, most of what we’ve seen so far has been early assets and concept art for old games over the…
If you’ve been spending time in Throne and Liberty, Amazon’s newest venture into the rediscovered land of MMOs, you’ve probably noticed an abundance of different currencies and item types to collect if you want to purchase or upgrade items. Perhaps you’ve realized that gathering them all can be an overwhelming task.…
If you’ve been spending time in Throne and Liberty, Amazon’s newest venture into the rediscovered land of MMOs, you’ve probably noticed an abundance of different currencies and item types to collect if you want to purchase or upgrade items. Perhaps you’ve realized that gathering them all can be an overwhelming task.…
If you shelled out enough money for Early Access, you can now play the first two episodes of Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, the direct sequel to the 2015 Dontnod adventure game that kicked off the series. There’s already a lot of discourse over how Double Exposure handles its role as a follow-up to the original,…
If you shelled out enough money for Early Access, you can now play the first two episodes of Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, the direct sequel to the 2015 Dontnod adventure game that kicked off the series. There’s already a lot of discourse over how Double Exposure handles its role as a follow-up to the original,…
PLOT: The true story of an actress (Anna Kendrick) who, in the seventies, went on The Dating Game and was matched with Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), who was later revealed to be a serial killer that may have murdered up to 130 women.
Woman of the Hour was originally reviewed at TIFF 2023
REVIEW: The story behind Woman of the Hour is pretty wild, even as far as true crime goes. While the movie takes several significant liberties with her story, a young actress named Cheryl Bradshaw really did go on The Dating Game in 1978 and chose serial killer Rodney Alcala as her match. While the premise is thin, as there wasn’t much to Bradshaw’s interactions with Alcala beyond the show, Anna Kendrick, who makes her directorial debut from a Black List script by Ian MacAllister McDonald, has put together a chilling film.
Much of the film enters around Alcala’s murder spree, focusing on the young women he won over with his considerable charm (which is why he did well on The Dating Game) and eventually killed. It’s a similar technique to the one Ryan Murphy used in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace in that it humanizes the victims and gives them a voice. It also never glamorizes Alcala or lingers on his crimes, tastefully cutting away before the killings happen (it’s not that kind of movie).
It’s a pretty assured debut for Kendrick, who also keeps herself merely part of the ensemble rather than the focus. Cheryl’s story is essential, but much of the film is centered around Zovatto’s Alcala, with his warm smile and good looks hiding the monster underneath. While certain aspects stretch the premise a little, such as Cheryl’s brother’s girlfriend in the Dating Game audience being someone whose friend was murdered by Alcala, it’s a well-paced and thought-out film.
Much of the plot revolves around a common truth found in many other true crime stories of the era, mainly that people’s concerns weren’t always taken seriously by the police. Kendrick does a good job depicting the casual sexism of the period, with Tony Hale wearing a hideous wig, making his seventies game show host a real sleaze. Kendrick portrays Cheryl as a woman desperate to please, as being an actress, she doesn’t want to be labeled difficult. However, she comes into her own during a fictionalized bit where she goes on a date with Alcala. The men aren’t all two-dimensional either, with the sleaziest contestant on the show trying to warn Cheryl about the bad vibes he’s picking up from Alcala at one point.
Despite working with a limited budget, Kendrick’s done an excellent job evoking the era with its hideous fashions and decor. Despite Alcala’s crimes making for pretty grim fare, Kendrick never makes the film too dour and isn’t afraid to have a little fun depicting the cheesiness of The Dating Game. She also does some interesting stuff visually, with the movie shot in scope by DP Zach Kuperstein and having a nicely atmospheric score by Dan Romer. One thing worth noting is that TIFF had several films by actors turned directors the year this playe. As Michael Keaton’s terrific Knox Goes Away, the supporting cast is given a chance to shine here, with Zovato crafting a nuanced portrayal of Alcala that, while never shying away from the fact that he was a monster, makes us understand how he could seduce women.
Woman of the Hour was a big sale at TIFF in 2023, with it snapped up by Netflix. Given their success with true crime, it was a wise purchase, especially if they can pair it with some of their non-fiction programming. I expect it to be a big hit for the streamer when it eventually comes out.
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People tend to fear what they do not understand, and in A24‘s The Legend of Ochi trailer, a young girl defies the laws of tradition to return a mythical creature to its forest home. Isaiah Saxon wrote and directed this adventure fantasy film starring Helena Zengel (News of the World, System Crasher), Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse, Poor Things), Emily Watson (Godsford Park, Red Dragon, Punch-Drunk Love), and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire).
The Legend of Ochi takes place in what appears to be some post-apocalyptic setting, with survivors forever fearful of what lurks within the depths of a nearby jungle. The group shares stories about a vicious creature skulking beyond the treeline, drooling and waiting for anyone foolish enough to come within its iron-like grasp. They hunt the beast but know little about its actual identity. It’s all fear-mongering and cautionary tales. That is until one young woman, Yuri, discovers the truth and can communicate with the creature.
Here’s the official logline for The Legend of Ochi courtesy of A24:
In a remote northern village, a young girl, Yuri, is raised to never go outside after dark and to fear the reclusive forest creatures known as the ochi. When a baby ochi is left behind by its pack, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to reunite it with its family.
Saxon, a frequent collaborator on music videos with Icelandic songstress Björk, makes his feature debut with The Legend of Ochi. Today’s trailer has The Legend of Ochi looking like more than your garden variety “rescue the misunderstood creature” film. The footage boasts a gorgeous setting, complicated character relationships, an adorable traveling companion, and something atypical of A24’s usual output. At first, I got some Mac and Me vibes from the trailer, but I quickly smiled as Yuri (Zengel) and Ochi teamed up for the adventure of a lifetime. I’m a sucker for fantasy fare, and we rarely get this brand of purity in contemporary films. A movie like The Legend of Ochi could come and go in today’s theatrical climate, and I sincerely hope this charming film finds its audience.
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Yesterday, Twitch suspended an account that belonged to streamer and famous YouTuber Zack “Asmongold” Hoyt after he made racist comments about the death of Palestinians in Gaza. Now, the YouTuber has responded to the temporary ban with surprisingly clear-eyed assessment of the controversy and what led up to it.
Two years ago, it was announced that Paul Greengrass – director of most of the films in the Jason Bourne franchise – was set to direct a film adaptation of the Stephen King novel Fairy Tale (you can pick up a copy HERE)… but now the plan has changed. Deadline reports that A24 has come on board to produce the King adaptation as a 10 episode TV series. Greengrass had been working on a feature script, but will now be building that script out into 10 episodes with J.H. Wyman, who will be the showrunner. Wyman’s previous credits include Fringe, Almost Human, and Debris. Greengrass, Wyman, and King will serve as executive producers on the show with Peter Rice, and Greengrass is expected to be involved as director to some degree. We’ll have to wait and see how many episodes he ends up directing.
When Greengrass was trying to turn Fairy Tale into a feature, the project was set up at Universal. Universal lost interest and dropped it, so Rice, a fan of the source material, brought it to its new home at A24, where it was decided that the story would work better as a series.
Fairy Tale follows a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours. Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is 17, he meets a dog named Radar and his aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it. Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world. King’s storytelling in Fairy Tale soars. This is a magnificent and terrifying tale about another world than ours, in which good is pitted against overwhelming evil, and a heroic boy – and his dog – must lead the battle.
When Greengrass first picked up the rights to Fairy Tale, he and King released statements complimenting each other. King said, “Needless to say, I’m a Paul Greengrass fan and think he’s a wonderful choice for this film.” Greengrass added, “Fairy Tale is a work of genius. A classic adventure story and also a disturbing contemporary allegory.”
Are you glad to hear that Greengrass and A24 are teaming up to turn King’s Fairy Tale into a 10 episode series? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
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