Boyz n the Hood Turns 25

Lynn Lee revisits the John Singleton classic on its 25th anniversary.

Four young boys walk along a railroad track, idly chatting but in search of something specific.  They find what they’re looking for: a dead body.  A group of older boys arrives and harasses them.  The most pugnacious of the younger group fights back in a way that foreshadows his destiny as an adult.

Stand by Me?  No, Boyz n the Hood, which opened in theaters 25 years ago today.  And the parallels are no mere coincidence. Writer and drector John Singleton was intentionally referencing the earlier Rob Reiner film – perhaps as much for the differences as the similarities between the two narratives of boyhood and the cultural spaces they occupy...

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Doc Corner: 'Zero Days' is One of the Year's Best

Glenn here with our weekly look at documentaries from theatres, festivals, and on demand.

Alex Gibney works with such ferocious regularity that it’s sometimes hard to keep track. Last year alone he had three films released following two the year before that. His latest, Zero Days, falls into the camp of Gibney films in which he most excels - those like Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room that allow him to exercise his skills at investigative journalism and dig deep into exposing organizations and those who surround them. While it lacks the pop fancies that made Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief such a success, Zero Days is Gibney’s best documentary in years.

Told with all the propulsive, thrilling excitement of a Hollywood spy blockbuster, Zero Days lifts the lid on a series of cybercrimes (reportedly - the film certainly makes a valiant case for it) committed by the US government in alignment with Israel against Iran and their potentially dangerous nuclear program. The crimes backfired drastically and exposed America and the world to a future of uncertain technological warfare...

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Three Women

Julie Christie, Ursula Andress, and Catherine Deneuve in 1966

Javier Bardem Is a (Frankenstein's) Monster

Get ready for more reboot franchise mayhem because Universal's Monster Cinematic Universe is growing: Javier Bardem has signed on to play Frankenstein's Monster.

Without any superheros to rely on, the studio is going back to their canon of classic horror icons and roping in some big names. Tom Cruise is the lead in next year's The Mummy revamp, with Russell Crowe also appearing as Dr. Jekyll. Johnny Depp has been confirmed as the Invisible Man for his own stand alone film. Their names may carry cache but each is in need of a (non-Mission: Impossible) hit we can get excited about, so here's hoping they can sommon more than another Van Helsing.

But Bardem's casting is easily the most exciting of the bunch. Let's not forget the actor does creepy so well that he got an Oscar for it, even if his most terrifying feat was his hairstyle in The Counselor. One of Bardem's strongest gifts is his powerful physical prescence and that should make the character a natural fit - and for the inevitable Bride of Frankenstine Penelope Cruz is right there!

With Dwayne Johnson rumored to be taking on the Wolf Man, this begs the question: who should be our next Dracula?

Linkbusting

Alanis Morrisette had a baby daughter. Named her "Onyx Solace"
MNPP Chris Hemsworth's Australian commercial
Film School Rejects Where is Shelley Duvall?
Coming Soon First photo of Colin Firth on the set of Kingsman: The Golden Circle 
Christian Siriano of Project Runway fame, got married in black - guests (a celebrity who's who including Danielle Brooks and Christina Hendricks) wore white 
Revelist on Poussey & Soso's relationship in the new season of Orange is the New Black (spoilers) 

Mike's Movie Projector remembers Deborah Kerr's iconic nun characters 
Towleroad apparently Christoph Waltz kissed Tarzan in the original cut of The Legend of Tarzan. Test audiences were perplexed
i09 Kiefer Sutherland takes a supporting role in the remake of a film he once starred in, Flatliners (1990)
Pajiba whiny women-fearing Ghostbusters haters are still at it, giving the movie a 3.5 rating on IMDb before the pubic has seen it
Times of Israel talks to Quentin Tarantino about his career. Sadly he's still planning to quit after a 10th movie so we only have two left. I hated The Hateful Eight but I'd rather not see him quit altogether
Interview Jon Favrea (The Jungle Book) talks to Idris Elba about his career thus far
Theater Mania Marisa Tomei is starring in The Rose Tattoo at the Williamstown Theater Festival. If only she'd get roles that good in film! (Christopher Abbott co-stars)
Michigan Avenue Scarlett Johansson was recently honored in Chicago with a "Renaissance Award" and talked about her love for her job and for playing The Black Widow
AV Club looks at the collaboration of Woody Allen & Scarlett Johansson in their "Together Again" series
/Film Carrie Coon will play the chief of police in the third season of Fargo. Ewan McGregor co-stars. I guess I have to start watching.