Author: .

PLOT: A cantor (Jason Schwartzman), grieving his wife’s loss a year earlier, strikes up an unlikely friendship with an elderly bat mitzvah student (Carol Kane). 

REVIEW: Between the Temples is a rather quirky, offbeat comedy. The latest from indie director Nathan Silver, it marks his most accessible, mainstream work to date, although the romantic pairing at the movie’s heart is rather unusual. Indeed, the film has heavy shades of Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude, although the romantic pairing of Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane (28-year age difference) isn’t as eye-brow-raising as it was in that film.

Granted, the romantic aspect of the movie is underplayed for the most part, with their romance ultimately being a chaste one. The two leads play two lost souls who find each other at a difficult time in their lives. Schwartzman’s Ben is a cantor who’s been unable to sing ever since the death of his wife, who was an alcoholic but sexually exciting novelist who would leave him provocative voicemails. Now living with his two mothers (a terrific Dolly de Leon and Caroline Aaron), he’s reverted to a delayed adolescence, allowing his doting mothers to do everything for him. At the same time, he whines and drinks (he’s such a man-child he drinks chocolate-flavored mudslides).

He’s shaken out of his stupor when he encounters his old music teacher, Carol Kane’s Carla, who is now widowed and seeks to rediscover Judaism following the death of her atheist husband. While she’s initially overbearing and eccentric, Ben finds himself won over by her big heart as the two prep for her ceremony.

between the temples

Schwartzman and Kane are both unconventional, neurotic performers, and their oddball chemistry makes the premise work relatively well. Both embrace the madcap nature of Silver’s unusual comedy, playing heightened versions of the characters they’d usually play. With him whiny and petulant, Schwartzman’s role could have been difficult to swallow, even if his two mothers, especially Dolly de Leon’s Judith, are intensely overbearing as they try to set him up with a new girl.

Madeline Weinstein plays his competing love interest here, with her the heartbroken daughter of Ben’s Rabbi (played by an amusing Robert Smigel). Compared to Kane’s Carla, Weinstein’s Gabby is young and sexually exciting, and in a fun twist, the actress also plays Ben’s late wife in photographs. In essence, the film shows Ben being torn between his past and present, eventually revealing that his relationship with his late wife, while exciting, was also somewhat destructive. Despite their age difference, the movie clearly wants us to think Carla is a better match for Ben.

It’ll be interesting to see if Between the Temples manages to crossover following its well-received Sundance premiere. It’s polished enough that a big distributor could pick it up, but it’s also so quirky that it likely will appeal to a more niche audience than the average Sundance crowd-pleaser. Whatever the case, it’s well worth seeing when it eventually comes out, especially if you have a Jewish background. It is amusingly satirical about the politics of being a temple member, even one as enlightened as the one depicted here. 

between the temples


Sundance

GOOD

7

The post Between the Temples (Sundance) Review appeared first on JoBlo.

JoBlo.com recently launched a new weekly documentary series called 80s Horror Memories, where each year of the 1980s has five episodes dedicated to it. Looking back at 1980, we discussed Maniac, Dressed to Kill, AlligatorFriday the 13thThe ShiningProm Night, and The Fog. The second five episodes were a journey through 1981, covering The Funhouse, The Burning, Friday the 13th Part 2, My Bloody ValentineHalloween IIThe Evil DeadThe Howling, and An American Werewolf in London, as well as the careers of horror hosts Elvira and Joe Bob Briggs. The next five were, of course, all about movies that came out in 1982: Conan the BarbarianThe ThingHalloween III: Season of the Witch, and Poltergeist, with an examination of the short-lived 3-D boom along the way. For 1983, we talked about a trio of Stephen King adaptations, Jaws 3-DSleepaway Camp, the rise of TV horror anthologies, and Psycho II. For 1984, we covered the creation of the PG-13 rating, The Terminator, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Our trip through 1985 included Teen WolfRe-AnimatorA Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge Friday the 13th: A New BeginningFright NightLifeforceDay of the Dead, and The Return of the Living Dead. For 1986, we covered David Cronenberg’s The Fly, the horror comedies that were released during the year (including Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Aliens, the connection between horror movies and heavy metal, and David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. Now we’ve reached 1987, and we got our journey through this year started with Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. In today’s episode, we’re looking at an iconic ’80s film that’s not quite a horror movie, even though it features some horrific moments: RoboCop! You can hear all about it in the video embedded above.

New episodes of 80s Horror Memories are released through the YouTube channel JoBlo Horror Originals every Friday. 

Here’s the info on 80s Horror MemoriesIt’s been over 40 years since the decade that shaped the horror movie industry began and having lived through most of those years personally, we at JoBlo/Arrow in the Head have decided to create a 10-part documentary series in which not only cover every nook and cranny of the biggest horror themes from 1980 to 1989 but also what was happening in the world at the time. Join us as we walk down Horror Memory Lane!

And here’s the info on this particular episode: Paul Verhoeven’s brutal, classic satire on society is possibly the most influential movie of the 1980s, but are we correct in saying it could easily pass as a horror movie, all things considered? Or is it simply an amazing example of visceral science fiction filmmaking? Well, get that 6000 SUX on order and stock up on baby food as we look back on everyone’s favorite 80s law enforcer, RoboCop!

This episode of 80s Horror Memories was written by Adam Walton, narrated by Tyler Nichols, edited by Adam Walton, produced by Berge Garabedian and John Fallon, co-produced by Mike Conway, and executive produced by Berge Garabedian. The score was provided by Shawn Knippelberg. Special Guests: Doug Jones (The Shape of Water) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry).

Let us know what you thought of this episode, plus share some of your own ’80s horror memories by leaving a comment!

Two of the previous episodes of 80s Horror Memories 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!

The post Episode 37 of 80s Horror Memories stops by Detroit to revisit RoboCop appeared first on JoBlo.

concrete utopia

One of South Korea’s biggest hits of last year is set to hit stateside. Concrete Utopia is a film that gained acclaim and was a massive hit at the Korean box office in 2023 with an earning of $28.0 million from 3.85 million admissions when the film opened on August 9 of last year. The film was also a Korean Oscar contender. Variety’s review of the film stated, “[Concrete Utopia] places its characters in a desperate, scary, do-or-die situation and then refuses to tell the audience what to think about them. It’s a fractious, blood-soaked drama about the will to survive that feels like Earthquake crossed with Lord of the Flies.” 

Variety is now reporting that Concrete Utopia has secured a U.S. streaming release on a platform called Rakuten Viki, a service that specializes in Asian content. The streaming platform has licensed exclusive rights to the film in the U.S. and Canada and will begin streaming it to North American audiences from Friday. The film, which stars Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game, I Saw the Devil, the G.I Joe franchise), Park Seo-jun (Parasite, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim), and Park Bo-young (Strong Girl Bong-soon, Doom at Your Service).

According to Variety, the movie is “based on the second part of webtoon Cheerful Outcast by Kim Soong-nyung. Concrete Utopia portrays Seoul as devastated by a powerful earthquake which has left the Hwanggoong Apartment complex as the only building still standing. Lee’s character Young-Tak temporarily leads the residents of the apartment complex, but as the crisis unfolds, moral values are tested.”

After the film debuted highly in Korea, it would also screen at a number of film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, Sitges International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest. Jaehee Hong, SVP of content at Rakuten Viki, remarks, “As the appetite for Asian entertainment continues to grow with U.S. audiences, this is a significant moment for Rakuten Viki as we look to raise the bar in offering the latest and most buzzworthy titles to fans.”

The post Concrete Utopia to get a U.S. release on streaming appeared first on JoBlo.

Everyone agrees that white lies can be harmless. Sometimes, we tell them to keep a person’s feelings from getting hurt or to prevent ourselves from getting into too much trouble. However, white lies are slippery, especially if you’ve been telling the same one for years. White lies can evolve to become one of the biggest mistakes you’ll ever make. In the end, it’s best not to tell them. In Peter Farrelly‘s (Green BookDumb and DumberRicky Stanicky trailer, three friends invent a friend who conveniently pulls them away from their lives whenever they need a break from reality. Unfortunately, their lie is getting called out, and they need someone to become the person they’ve been lying about for years.

Amazon MGM Studios debuted the Ricky Stanicky trailer on Friday, a Rated-R laugh-out-loud comedy premiering globally on Prime Video on March 7, 2024. The upcoming comedy stars John Cena (PeacemakerFast X), Zac Effron (The Iron ClawBaywatch), Jermaine Fowler (The BlackeningComing 2 America), Andrew Santino (BeefMe Time), and William H. Macy (ShamelessFargo), among others. Jeff Bushell, Brian Jarvis, James Lee Freeman, Peter Farrelly, Pete Jones, and Mike Cerrone wrote the screenplay.

Here’s the official synopsis for Ricky Stanicky from Amazon MGM Studios:

When three childhood best friends pull a prank gone wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble! Twenty years after creating this ‘friend,’ Dean, JT, and Wes (Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, and Jermaine Fowler) still use the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior. When their spouses and partners get suspicious and demand to finally meet the fabled Mr. Stanicky, the guilty trio decide to hire washed-up actor and raunchy celebrity impersonator “Rock Hard” Rod (John Cena) to bring him to life. But when Rod takes his role of a lifetime too far, they begin to wish they’d never invented Ricky in the first place. From director Peter Farrelly and featuring additional cast members, including William H. Macy, Lex Scott Davis, and Anja Savcic.

Have you ever told a lie so bold you needed to invent a person to cover your ass? How much trouble do you think these friends will face when their loved ones discover Ricky Stanicky is a fraud? In the comments below, let us know what you think about the Ricky Stanicky trailer.

The post Ricky Stanicky trailer: John Cena and Zac Efron star in a Peter Farrelly comedy about a made-up friend who infiltrates the lives of three liars appeared first on JoBlo.

thunderbolts, lewis pullman

It was reported earlier that Steven Yeun was set to make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Thunderbolts film. Unfortunately, scheduling issues that cropped up due to last year’s dual strikes in Hollywood would now prevent Yeun from participating in filming. The actor felt remorse for the dilemma and wanted to make it clear that he hopes to join the MCU in the future, “I wanna do a Marvel movie. I have some ideas.” Yeun would also apologize to the fans for holding up the production, “It took a lot of drafts on email to make sure that I conveyed the sincerity of how sorry I was to have to back out.” Deadline is now reporting that Top Gun: Maverick‘s Lewis Pullman is now in talks with Marvel Studios to be Yeun’s replacement. Pullman, the son of Independence Day star Bill Pullman, can currently be seen with Brie Larson in Apple’s Lessons in Chemistry. His past credits would also include Bad Times at the El Royale and the TV series Outer Range. Pullman is reportedly the top choice for Yeun’s now-unoccupied role, which has yet to be announced. However, it was reportedly a significant part of the film.

Pullman would be joining another star child with Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt, who will be reprising his role, John Walker, from the MCU Disney+ series Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Russell had recently updated fans that the movie is set to start production in the spring and would convey his excitement for the project in the face of the recent output of projects from the brand, “I have confidence it’s gonna be good. I know everybody is sort of on this Marvel train right now of things not going so well…It’s not a straightforward Marvel movie as you’ve seen in the past.”

Thunderbolts has still compiled an impressive cast as sort of an anti-Avengers team-up film, with Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), David Harbour (Red Guardian), and Olga Kurylenko (Taskmaster) reprising their roles from past MCU entries.

Directed by Jake Schreier and written by Eric Pearson and Lee Sung Jin, Thunderbolts is part of Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – although it had intended to be part of the in-progress Phase Five but missed that due to the aforementioned strikes. It has a current release date of July 25th, 2025, two months after The Fantastic Four hits theaters.

The post Thunderbolts: Lewis Pullman is in talks to step in for Steven Yeun appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Four interconnected tales follow a teenager in love (Jack Champion), two female rappers trying to make it (Normani and Dominique Thorne), a world-weary debt mob enforcer (Pedro Pascal ) and a basketball legend (Jay Ellis) looking for vengeance in 1987 Oakland.

REVIEW: Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson) make a triumphant return to Sundance with one of the festival’s most energetic offerings in years. Mixing a Tarantino-style crime tale with high-octane action, Boden and Fleck use the bag of tricks they earned working for the MCU (Captain Marvel) to deliver an unexpected smash. Freaky Tales is the kind of movie Sundance would have shown in its nineties heyday, with it likely the only film playing this year that ends in a kung-fu-heavy bloodbath. I loved every second of it.

Freaky Tales mostly takes place over a single night in Oakland; it uses a few things that were happening in the area back then, such as the Golden State Warriors facing off with the Lakers and the rise of rapper Too Short as a jumping-off point. Yet, the film goes way, way other there pretty quickly, with the stylized chapters escalating in style until an ending that plays like Kill Bill mixed with Scanners.

The film mainly revolves around each of the leads having violent encounters with Oakland Skinheads. Each chapter seems influenced by a different classic from the era the movie is set in. The first chapter plays like a mix of The Karate Kid and The Warriors. In it, a good-natured teen (Jack Champion) with a monster crush on a girl (Ji-Young Yoo) into the punk scene becomes a hero as he joins them in an ultra-violent brawl with Neo-Nazis. These skinheads are working for a more dangerous crew headed by a crooked cop (Ben Mendelsohn) who also has the lead of our third story, Pedro Pascal’s Clint, under his thumb. Before getting to the more violent second half of the film, Freaky Tales detours into Krush Groove territory, following two female battle rappers as they try to make it in the club scene. It’s a good-natured little aside before the movie dives right into a violent, carnage-filled second half, with Pascal’s storyline similar to James Caan’s in Thief, while the finale has heavy shades of The Last Dragon thrown in.

freaky tales review

While the nature of the film makes it inevitably uneven, for the most part, Fleck and Boden keep the pace propulsive. Even the slower second story about battle rap is entertaining, with singer Normani and Ironheart’s Riri WIlliams herself, Dominique Thorne, delivering winning performances.

However, the first, third and fourth stories are the ones that get your adrenaline pumping, with the first story shot in a way that makes it feel like you’re watching a VHS copy of a coming-of-age 80s classic. Jack Champion, who broke out in Avatar: The Way of Water, is a thoroughly likeable lead, with his chemistry with the pretty Ji-Young Yoo on point, as the two debate the ending of The Lost Boys and “Blue Velvet” people before their climactic brawl.

One of the movie’s most significant selling points will undoubtedly be Pedro Pascal, cast perfectly as the world-weary enforcer, eager to leave the business behind to raise a family. Boasting an extended cameo by an A-lister whose Oakland roots are heavily referenced in the film, this segment plays like a classic crime tale, with it and the fourth story really two halves of a longer whole. Of everyone, Pascal has the most significant role as a tragedy sends him into a suicidal confrontation with Mendelsohn’s ultra-evil Nazi mastermind, only for the film to take a wild turn in the last segment. In it, Jay Ellis from Top Gun: Maverick emerges as a full-blown action star, playing a real-life basketball player named Sleepy Floyd who, in this film’s demented take on reality, also runs a quasi-cult where he teaches teens to harness their psychic power to fight evil. Does it sound a little random? It is, but Boden and Fleck do such a good job elevating the violence and frenetic pace that it really works when Freaky Tales takes a detour into full-blown kung-fu-tinged Scanners territory. 

Indeed, Freaky Tales works very well as a genre movie and could be a hit for whatever distributor picks it up. Pascal’s rising fame and the fact that it boasts a ton of well-designed action (and a terrific soundtrack that includes everything from Metallica to Public Image Limited)  makes it seem natural for the big screen. I loved every second of it. 


Sundance

GREAT

8

The post Freaky Tales (Sundance) Review appeared first on JoBlo.