Beauty Break: Ed Skrein and "Hellboy" Replacement Suggestions

by Nathaniel R

Major Ben Daimio. The part will no longer be played by Ed Skrein

Well here's a delightful righteous first. The British actor Ed Skrein, whose best known to date for being the big bad of the first Deadpool movie, has taken a stand against the frequent white-washing of Asian characters on film. He has dropped out of the Hellboy reboot having learned (via the instant online backlash) that the role in the comics is a Japanese-American man. He wrote a heartfelt public letter about the decision...

Click to read more ...

Doc Corner: 'Icarus' Doesn't Fly

By Glenn Dunks

It is easy to see why Netflix purchased Icarus for a record five-million dollars. Charting director-and-subject Bryan Fogel’s attempts to prove how easily it is for athletes to dope and how easy it is to get away with it before getting sucked into the Russian Olympic doping scandal of 2015, it’s a premise that swings between two wildly popular forms of documentary. But blending the personality theatrics of Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me with true crime, Icarus ultimately isn’t able to replicate the entertainment and the sheer chutzpah of that 2004 perfect storm of charming lead and grotesquely captivating experiment.

For starters, Fogel greatly overestimates the desire to watch somebody screw the system and (attempt to) get away with it. After all, we live in a world with Lance Armstrong already in it – and it takes Icarus just 58 seconds to feature him in archival sound and video – so there seems little need for a talented, but self-admitted amateur cyclist to muddy the waters and prove how scandalous it all is...

Click to read more ...

First Poster for "The Greatest Showman"

Chris here. Forgive us if festival season has us distracted from some of the bigger budget cinematic events to come in the months ahead. But rest assured that we are still plenty excited about Hugh Jackman's upcoming The Greatest Showman. An original musical so soon after La La Land feels too good to be true - no, this isn't adapted from the Coleman/Stewart musical Barnum - but we're curious if this also has a solid chance with Oscar. All of the design elements, as witnessed in that first trailer, look eye-popping and sumptuous - but will this be more than an entertaining time at the movies this holiday season? Composers Pasek and Paul might at least have a solid chance to return to the Best Original Song race after their La La Land win last year - they're our current trophy hogs after also taking the Tony for Dear Evan Hansen.

Here's your reminder that we've got a splashy musical coming our way - the film's first poster! Why so shy about selling its megastar, I wonder - especially with some of that Logan goodwill to capitalize on...

Stage Door: "Prince of Broadway"

by Nathaniel R

Though I don't cherish the form I've seen quite a few jukebox musicals in my day. Sometimes they take the biographical route like Jersey Boys. Often they'll sift through the lyrics of some artist's catalogue hoping to yank out phrases and threads from which they can stitch together a frankenstein story. Mammia Mia is either the apotheosis or the nadir of that latter form, depending on your perspective. But what if the jukebox isn't beholden to one composer? Prince of Broadway, which just opened at the Samuel Friedman in NYC, is devoted to the producer Harold Prince who did not write music. So what you have is a greatest hits of, uh, dozens of different composers from a wide range of musicals. If this were a CD it might be called "Now That's What I Call Broadway, Vol. Whatever"

Prince backed a TON of über famous shows in his illustrious career including Phantom of the Opera, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret... you name it! None of the musicals sound alike so there's little hope of cohesion in the show. Wisely Prince of Broadway  doesn't try to create a "story" from these disparate musicals in a career that stretches all the way back to 1950 (Prince is 89 years old and directed this production).What they've come up with instead is much less intrusive even if it doesn't totally work...

Click to read more ...

Review: "Ingrid Goes West"

By Spencer Coile 

Following the death of her mother, Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) is in a rut. With no one to turn to, she scrolls through Instagram in hopes of finding her ideal friend. She soon finds Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), a California-based social media influencer -- and Ingrid's latest muse. Captivated by Taylor's seemingly glamorous life, Ingrid packs up her life in Pennsylvania and heads to the sunny West Coast, in hopes of befriending Taylor and catching a glimmer of social media stardom. 

Written and directed by Matt Spicer, Ingrid Goes West is the latest in a long line of films that demonstrate the pervasiveness of technology and the influence social media has on our lives. If you find yoursevles rolling your eyes at that comment, fear not. Ingrid is far more interested in exploring our relationship with the likes of Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc., rather than merely demonizing its usage. Oh, and it is hilarious. 

Click to read more ...