Review: "The Dark Tower"

by Chris Feil

The Stephen King resurgence continues with his epic genre mashup series The Dark Tower finally coming to the screen from director Nikolaj Arcel, and with the powerful Idris Elba in tow as the enigmatic gunslinger Roland Deschain. But this one isn’t likely to come ahead of the King-idolatry of Stranger Things or the upcoming adaptation of It, as it barely resembles his creation or any of the elements that make him one of our foremost pulse-quickeners.

The Dark Tower centers on Jake Chambers, a troubled teenager with visions of otherworldly cataclysm centered around the evil Man in Black, played with nonchalance by Matthew McConaughey. Jake flees across dimensions into Roland’s world and the two pair up to stop the Man In Black from destroying the titular Dark Tower and with it all of existence. When the film immediately forces its hero Roland Deschain to the background for its first two acts (and without building a mythos to capitalize on once he emerges), it’s the first sign that something is majorly amiss in this adaptation...

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Meet your new "Jafar"

The saga of Disney's live-action Aladdin casting is still underway. The new Jafar will be Dutch actor Marwan Kenzari. This is noteworthy because he's the first live-action version of a cartoon character who is hotter than the cartoon character. It's also worth noting that if he's great in the role this could be quite an international breakthrough. He speaks four languages (Arabic, French, Dutch, and English) which you can hear some of in his most acclaimed role in Wolf (2013) so imagine how many country's cinemas could use him!

He's mostly made Dutch films to date but he was recently onscreen in three epic English language flops Ben-Hur, The Promise, and The Mummy. Next up he's playing the French train conductor in the Murder on the Orient Express remake then the lead in a true story thriller about Ashraf Marwan. After those two films, he'll be tormenting Aladdin and Jasmine!

In short: big career ahead. After the jump more pictures (some NSFW) of the new Jafar...

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would you rather...?

Some mellow choices this time on 'would you rather' because it's August, the grossest month of the year. Everyone stay air-conditioned.

WOULD YOU RATHER
...sip some drink with Marisa Tomei?
...drive to work w/ Grant Gustin and puppies?
...see Greece with Paul Bettany?
...curse your diet with Josh Brolin?
...convalesce with Cindy Sherman and a camera at the hospital?
..."share a moment" with Sam Claflin?
... teach Sharon Stone's dog new tricks?
... take a contemplative trip with Juliette Binoche?
OR
... learn your place in the star food chain with Tom Holland?

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide.

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Aug Screengrab Roulette: Sing!, Rachel Getting Married, etc...

You know the drill. Here's all the new stuff on the major streaming services with a handful plus of random titles freeze-framed (whatever came up when we messed with the viewing bar, no fudging). What will you be watching this month and which movies would you love to see covered in depth?

The lists and screengrabs are after the jump.

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Interview: '4 Days in France' Director Jérôme Reybaud on Grindr and the Sensuality of Syntax

By Jose Solís

Courtesy of Cinema Guild

Jérôme Reybaud 4 Days in France (which I reviewed here) is a sensual travelogue that follows Pierre (Pascal Cervo) a privileged Parisian man who leaves his lover (Arthur Igual) behind to go on an aimless road trip into the French countryside accompanied only by Grindr and his desire. An evocative, funny, and quite sexy film, 4 Days in France is surprisingly Reybaud’s directorial debut, quite the feat given how secure he is in his choices, and how much he relies on elements - gay sex onscreen, older female characters, poetic dialogues - that would make other filmmakers run for the woods, no pun intended.

As the film opens in New York and select markets in the US, I spoke to Reybaud about his bold directorial choices, his fascination with online dating, and how he ended up casting a Tony nominated legend.

JOSE: The first time I saw the film I was struck by how little it seemed the audience around me knew about Grindr, I’m pretty gay so I know it very well, but others seemed baffled about an app like it existing. Have you encountered that reaction at all?

JÉRÔME REYBAUD: Yes! I don’t have Grindr or a cell phone myself, but I didn’t expect the Grindr ignorance I’ve seen with some Parisian or NY guys. I assumed a heterosexual couple in provincial France wouldn’t know it, so I added a little information about the app for people who wouldn’t know what it was.

[Read the rest of the interview after the jump]

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