Author: Tom Stockman

DO THE RIGHT THING Screens at The St. Louis Library April 6th – ‘The Films of Spike Lee’


“Let me tell you the story of Right Hand, Left Hand. It’s a tale of good and evil. Hate: it was with this hand that Cane iced his brother. Love: these five fingers, they go straight to the soul of man. The right hand: the hand of love. The story of life is this: static. One hand is always fighting the other hand, and the left hand is kicking much ass. I mean, it looks like the right hand, Love, is finished. But hold on, stop the presses, the right hand is coming back. Yeah, he got the left hand on the ropes, now, that’s right. Ooh, it’s a devastating right and Hate is hurt, he’s down. Left-Hand Hate KOed by Love!”

Spike Lee’s DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) screens at The St. Louis Public Library Central Branch (1301 Olive Street St. Louis). The film begins at 1pm Saturday, April 6th. This is a FREE event.

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I remember seeing DO THE RIGHT THING at the now-shuttered Northwest Square Cinema in North St. Louis County the weekend it opened. I recall being the only Caucasian in the audience. I also remember when Samuel L. Jackson, as local DJ Mr. Senor Love Daddy remarked it was so hot there was a “Jheri curl alert. If you have a Jheri curl, stay in the house or you’ll end up with a permanent black helmet on your head fuh-eva!” The audience roared with laughter but I sat there not getting the joke….…and that’s the truth, Ruth!

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“Always do the right thing?” says Da Mayor, played by Ossie Davis in DO THE RIGHT THING. “That’s it?” retorts Mookie (played by Lee), “That’s it!” Da Mayor, is the local old-timer spending the day drinking, meditating, giving advice and occasionally flirting with Mother-Sister, a woman of the same generation played by Ruby Dee, Davis’ real-life wife, observing the neighborhood’s life through the window. But the most emblematic scene of DO THE RIGHT THING consists of characters of different races facing a camera and delivering a series of racist rants until Mister Senor Love Daddy tells them to chill out. Some remarkable writing there by Mr. Lee.

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30 years later Spike Lee’s DO THE RIGHT THING has endured as one of the very best movies of the ‘90s. (okay, technically it is a 1989 film, but that’s ‘90s enough for me). It was fittingly voted #96 in AFI’s Top 100 Greatest Movies and features a sprawling cast including Danny Aiello (Oscar-nominated for his terrific work here), Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Robin Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Nunn, Rosie Perez, and John Turturro. Lee’s film is a harrowing 24-hour journey into Brooklyn’s multi-ethnic Bedford/Stuy neighborhood and takes place during the summer’s hottest day. It’s not a coincidence that the suffocating atmosphere fits the overall mood of the film as it foreshadows the tragic inevitability of a coming storm. Apparently some in St. Louis thinks it foreshadows, or at least is pertinent in regards to, Ferguson and the recent race riots here.

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Don’t miss DO THE RIGHT THING April 6th at the  St. Louis Public Library Central Branch. Lee’s THE BLACKKKLANSMAN will screen there April 13th at 1pm

The Original 1954 GODZILLA Destroys Schlafly Bottleworks April 11th

“I can’t believe that Godzilla was the only surviving member of its species… But if we continue conducting nuclear tests, it’s possible that another Godzilla might appear somewhere in the world again!”

The original GODZILLA (1954) screens Thursday April 11th at 7:00pm at Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue Maplewood, MO 63143). The film will be hosted by We Are Movie Geeks own Tom Stockman. A Facebook invite for the event can be found HERE

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The original Japanese GODZILLA from 1954 is a historical classic. While it may seem a little hokey when considering contemporary special effects capabilities, the film nonetheless seems to rectify the dated destruction scenes with realistic, dramatic, and depressing aftermath scenes where orphaned children are crying, families are destroyed, and lives are lost as a result of the ‘Big G’s’ destructive wake. When analyzing the monster’s destructive capabilities it’s important to remember that GODZILLA was produced at a time when the after-effects of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were still remnant in the Japanese psyche and Western society at large with the looming Cold War and the possibility of a nuclear holocaust. GODZILLA as a film seems to dissect these delicate matters by emphasizing how the widespread destruction in the film was brought about by nuclear testing that awakened a dormant monster. Indeed, Godzilla himself is a metaphor for the destructive capabilities of nuclear weapons.

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If, like me, you grew up watching the Americanized version, GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS, with much cut out and  footage of Raymond Burr (as Steve Martin) talking on the phone and pointing at the sky with his knit brow added, you may be amazed how different the original Japanese take is. I saw the original version of GODZILLA for the first time at the Tivoli  15 years ago when it played there for a week and I plan on seeing it again April 11th at Schlafly Bottleworks.

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$7  for the screening. A yummy variety of food from Schlafly’s kitchen is available as are plenty of pints of their famous home-brewed suds.

“Culture Shock” is the name of a film series here in St. Louis that is the cornerstone project of a social enterprise that is an ongoing source of support for Helping Kids Together(http://www.helpingkidstogether.com/) a St. Louis based social enterprise dedicated to building cultural diversity and social awareness among young people through the arts and active living.

The films featured for “Culture Shock” demonstrate an artistic representation of culture shock materialized through mixed genre and budgets spanning music, film and theater. Through ‘A Film Series’ working relationship with Schlafly Bottleworks, they seek to provide film lovers with an offbeat mix of dinner and a movie opportunities.

It’s Not What You Think It Is! SOCIETY Screens Midnights This Weekend at The Moolah


“You were right Billy, I am a butthead!”


SOCIETY (1989) screens Midnights this weekend (March 29th and 30th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge (3821 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108) as part of  Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Nite Grindhouse film series.


SOCIETY (1989) directed by Brian Yuzna (producer of RE-ANIMATOR) is a strange horror/sci-fi satire on the yuppie way of life.


Beverly Hills teen (Billy Warlock – great as our perplexed and horrified hero.) begins to suspect that there’s something very wrong with his snobbish family, is he imagining it or are they… inhuman?!

SOCIETY is one original and shocking black comedy. There’s never a dull moment in the wacky story, which starts out as a paranoia mystery then only gets increasingly weird from there on out. It all builds to a warped finale that you won’t forget! It’s one of those surreal and gruesome terrors that makes you wonder if you should be laughing or screaming at what you’re seeing. The makeup work of Screaming Mad George is very effectively disturbing. The direction of Yuzna is well-done and the addition of the Eton Boat Song as the films theme is a clever touch.

SOCIETY is one of those unique genre oddities that must be seen to be fully realized, one very wild trip that’s well deserving of a cult status and lucky St. Louisans will have the rare chance to see it on the big screen this weekend at The Moolah.


THE PSYCHOTRONIC PRE-SHOW STARTS AROUND 11:30P WITH THE FILM STARTING AT MIDNIGHT.


The Moolah Theatre & Lounge serves alcohol until 2:30AM! Feel free to show up early and stay late to have some drinks and get friendly with the amazing Moolah staff.

The Facebook invite can be found HERE

Terrifying Thriller MATRIARCH Coming to Digital and DVD April 9th

  
When the victims of a car crash stumble upon a farmhouse, miles from civilization, they think they’re safe, but the farm’s strange inhabitants have other ideas in Matriarch, arriving on DVD, Digital, and On Demand April 9 from Lionsgate. Charlie Blackwood, Scott Vickers, Julie Hannan, and Alan Cuthbert star in this chilling horror film that Vickers also wrote and directed. The Matriarch DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.  
The trailer looks so creepy!


This terrifying thriller unfolds as pregnant Rachel and her husband, Matt, are stranded after wrecking their car on a remote Scottish road. Though hostile at first, a nearby farmer and his wife welcome them in after learning that Rachel is with child. Suddenly, Rachel realizes the family’s “daughter” is a local girl who’d gone missing years before, but when she and Matt attempt to escape, they’re held at gunpoint—just as Rachel goes into labor. Will their child’s first day on earth be the couple’s last?

WAMG Attends the Red Carpet Premiere of BREAKTHROUGH

On January 19, 2015, 14-year-old John Smith was trapped underwater for 15 minutes. First responders pulled him from the icy waters of Lake Saint Louis near St. Charles, Missouri, about 40 miles West of St. Louis. Young John wasn’t breathing, and paramedics and doctors at St. Joseph Hospital West performed CPR on him for 45 minutes without him regaining a pulse. His mother Joyce, who had been notified by phone about the accident, rushed to the hospital, prayed for him, and to the surprise of everyone, his heart began beating again. Dr. Kent Sutterer, the first doctor who treated John, wrote in his medical records: Patient dead. Mother prayed. Patient came back to life. To this day, John suffers no after-effects from the accident


Pastor Jason Noble, Joyce Smith, and one of Joyce’s older sons

In 2017, Joyce Smith chronicled the story in her memoir entitled “The Impossible”, and now that book has been made into the film BREAKTHROUGH, which opens nationwide April 17th. In the film, Joyce is played by Chrissy Metz (from the TV show ‘This is Us’) and John is played by Marcel Ruiz (from the TV show ‘One Day at a Time). Josh Lucas co-stars as Joyce’s husband Brian and Topher Grace plays their family’s pastor Jason Noble.


Producer DeVon Franklin, Chrissy Metz, and Marcel Ruiz

Because this was such a big local story, there was a red carpet premiere of BREAKTHROUGH last night at the Marcus Des Peres Cinema in St. Louis County and We Are Movie Geeks was on the scene to cover the event. John and Joyce Smith were in attendance as were their big-screen counterparts Chrissy Metz and Marcel Ruiz. Also attending the premiere were Pastor Jason Noble, the film’s director Roxann Dawson (a former actress who played B’Elanna Torres on the show Star Trek Voyager from 1996 to 2001), the film’s producer DeVon Franklin, and dozens of first responders from the Lake Saint Louis police and fire departments including Tommy Shine (played in the film by Mike Colter), the hero who fished young John from his watery would-be grave.


Lake St. Louis fireman Tommy Shine (center)

Check back here at We Are Movie Geeks for more coverage of BREAKTHROUGH and look for our review on April 17th


John Smith and his girlfriend Abby

 

THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE Available on Blu-ray April 9th From Arrow Video

   
THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE will be available on Blu-ray April 9th From Arrow Video


One of several animal-in-the-title cash-ins released in the wake of Dario Argento s box-office smash The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire is a gloriously excessive giallo that boasts a rogues gallery of perverse characters; violent, fetishized murders, and one of the genre s most nonsensical, red-herring laden plots (which sees almost every incidental character hinted at potentially being the killer).


Set in Dublin (a rather surprising giallo setting), Iguana opens audaciously with an acid-throwing, razor-wielding maniac brutally slaying a woman in her own home. The victim s mangled corpse is discovered in a limousine owned by Swiss Ambassador Sobiesky (Anton Diffring, Where Eagles Dare) and a police investigation is launched, but when the murdering continues and the ambassador claims diplomatic immunity, tough ex-cop John Norton (Luigi Pistilli, A Bay of Blood) is brought in to find the killer…


Benefitting from a sumptuous score by Stelvio Cipriani (Nightmare City, Death Walks on High Heels) and exuberant supporting performances from Valentina Cortese (The Possessed, Thieves’ Highway) and Dagmar Lassander (The Frightened Woman, The Black Cat), The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire is a luridly over-the-top latter-day entry in the filmography of acclaimed director Riccardo Freda (Caltiki The Immortal Monster, Murder Obsession). An archetypal giallo from the genre s heyday, Freda s film is presented here in a stunning new restoration with a host of newly produced extras.


SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

  • New 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
  • Uncompressed mono 1.0 LPCM audio
  • Original English and Italian soundtracks, titles and credits
  • Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
  • New audio commentary by giallo connoisseurs Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
  • Of Chameleons and Iguanas, a newly filmed video appreciation by the cultural critic and academic Richard Dyer
  • Considering Cipriani, a new appreciation of the composer Stelvio Cipriani and his score to The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire by DJ and soundtrack collector Lovely Jon
  • The Cutting Game, a new interview with Iguana s assistant editor Bruno Micheli
  • The Red Queen of Hearts, a career-spanning interview with the actress Dagmar Lassander
  • Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
  • Image gallery
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
  • Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Andreas Ehrenreich

Keira Knightley in BERLIN, I LOVE YOU Arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital April 9th


An impressive ensemble cast shines against an unlikely backdrop in the romantic comedy, Berlin, I Love You, arriving on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital), DVD, and Digital April 9 from Lionsgate.

An impressive ensemble cast shines against an unlikely backdrop in the romantic comedy, Berlin, I Love You, arriving on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital), DVD, and Digital April 9 from Lionsgate. This film is currently available On Demand. This heartwarming anthology contains 10 romantic stories set against the backdrop of the German capital and stars two-time Oscar® nominee Keira Knightley (2005, Best Actress, Pride & Prejudice; 2014, Best Supporting Actress, The Imitation Game), Oscar® winner Helen Mirren (2006, Best Actress, The Queen), Luke Wilson, and Jenna Dewan. The Berlin, I Love You Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.

Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Jim Sturgess, and Diego Luna head an all-star cast in this sparkling film from the producers ofParis, Je T’Aime. Set against the vivid backdrop of Berlin, Berlin, I Love You weaves ten stories of compassion, redemption, and acceptance into a rich tapestry of life — and love.

CAST

Dianna Agron                          The Family, I Am Number Four, TV’s “Glee”

Emily Beecham                      Hail, Caesar!, Daphne 

Alexander Black                     A Hologram for the King, TV’s “NCIS: Los Angeles”

Rafaëlle Cohen                       Beauty and the Beast

Jenna Dewan                          Step Up, The Jerk Theory, TV’s “World of Dance”

Hannelore Elsner                    No Place to Go, Cherry Blossoms, TV’s “Lady Cop”

Veronica Ferres                      Salt and Fire, Pay the Ghost 

Michelangelo Fortuzzi            TV’s “Pinocchio,” Im Niemandsland 

Nolan Funk                             Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” TV’s “Glee”

Toni Garrn                              Head Full of Honey, Amazon’s “You Are Wanted”

Lili Gattyán                              Dough, Eden

Liam Gross                             Feature Film Debut

Sibel Kekilli                             When We Leave, TV’s “Game of Thrones”

Carlo Kitzlinger                       Innenkind, 7500

Keira Knightley                        Pirates of the Caribbeanfranchise, Pride & Prejudice, Atonement

Charlotte Le Bon                     The Hundred-Foot Journey, TV’s “Calls”

Diego Luna                              Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, If Beale Street Could Talk

Helen Mirren                           RED, The Queen, Hitchcock

Phoebe Nicholls                     Transformers: The Last Knight, TV’s “Downton Abbey”

Max Raabe                             Let My People Go!, Maybe … Maybe Not

Iwan Rheon                             TV’s “Game Of Thrones,” TV’s “Family Guy”

Katja Riemann                        Rosenstrasse, Bandits, Talk of the Town 

Mickey Rourke                       The Wrestler, Iron Man 2, TV’s “Dice”

Carol Schuler                          TV’s “Homeland”

Robert Stadlober                     Summer Storm, Enemy at the Gates

Jim Sturgess                           TV’s “Hard Sun,” TV’s “Feed the Beast”

Jake Weber                             Dawn of the Dead, Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why”

Luke Wilson                            Old School, Idiocracy, The Royal Tenenbaums

Laila Maria Witt                       Dendrologium, TV’s “Einstein”

Sam Worthington in MAN ON A LEDGE Arrives on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack plus Blu-ray and Digital April 9th from Lionsgate.

An all-star cast in an intense action-thriller comes home when Man on a Ledge arrives on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital) April 9 from Lionsgate.

An all-star cast in an intense action-thriller comes home whenMan on a Ledge arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital) April 9 from Lionsgate. Starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, and Anthony Mackie, the film has been called “a heart-pounding adrenaline rush” by Fox-TV. Experience four times the resolution of full HD with the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, which includes Dolby Vision® HDR, bringing entertainment to life through ultra-vivid picture quality. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors never before seen on a screen, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker. Additionally, the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack and Blu-ray feature Dolby Atmos® audio mixed specifically for the home, to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. Available for the very first time in this absolutely stunning format, the Man on a Ledge 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack will include a featurette and trailer commentary by Elizabeth Banks and will be available for the suggested retail price of $22.99.

In the film critics call a “white-knuckle action thriller (Mose Persico, CTV Montreal),” ex-cop Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) escapes from prison to plan the ultimate heist; steal a $40 million diamond from cutthroat businessman David Englander (Ed Harris), and in the process prove his own innocence. From the ledge of the famous Roosevelt Hotel with the whole world watching, Cassidy plays a clever game of cat and mouse with the NYPD while his dutiful brother Joey (Jamie Bell) races against the clock to extract the diamond and clear his brother’s name.

4K ULTRA HD / BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

  • “TheLedge” Featurette
  • Trailer with Commentary by Elizabeth Banks

CAST

Sam Worthington                    Avatar, The Shack, Everest

Elizabeth Banks                      The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect

Jamie Bell                               TV’s “TURN: Washington’s Spies”, Snowpiercer, Fantastic Four

Anthony Mackie                      Avengers, The Hate U Give, Detroit

WAMG Giveaway – Win THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT Starring Sam Elliott on DVD


RLJE Films (NASDAQ: RLJE) will release the action/thriller THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT on DVD and Blu-ray on April 2, 2019. Written by Robert D. Krzykowski, who is making his directorial debut, the film stars Academy Award Nominee Sam Elliott (A Star is Born, The Hero), Aidan Turner (“Poldark”), Ron Livingston (Office Space, Tully), Caitlin FitzGerald (“Masters of Sex”), Larry Miller (Pretty Woman) and Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood). RLJE Films will release THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THEBIGFOOT on DVD for an SRP of $29.96 and Blu-ray for an SRP of $29.97.


Now you can win the Win the DVD of THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT. We Are Movie Geeks has two copies to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment below  telling us what your favorite movie starring Sam Elliott is. (mine’s LIFEGUARD). It’s so easy!

1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES.  NO P.O. BOXES.  NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.

2. WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.

THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT follows the epic adventures of an American legend that no one has ever heard of.  Since WWII, Calvin Barr (Sam Elliott) has lived with the secret that he was responsible for the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Now, decades later, the US government has called on him again for a new top-secret mission. Bigfoot has been living deep in the Canadian wilderness and is carrying a deadly plague that is now threatening to spread to the general population. Relying on the same skills that he honed during the war, Calvin must set out to save the free world yet again.


THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT DVD and Blu-ray include the following bonus features:

  • The Making of THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THEBIGFOOT
  • Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Robert D. Krzykowski
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Elsie Hooper Short Film
  • Concept Art Gallery
  • Composer Joe Kraemer Interview

Alain Resnais’ MELO Available on Blu-ray April 9th From Arrow Academy

 
Alain Resnais’ MELO (1986) will be  available on Blu-ray April 9th From Arrow Academy

Master director Alain Resnais (Last Year At Marienbad) blurs the line between cinematic technique and theatrical artifice in his acclaimed Mélo, adapted from Henri Bernstein s classic play about a doomed love triangle in 1920s Paris.


Pierre (Pierre Arditi, Love Unto Death) and Marcel (André Dussollier, A Good Marriage) are both celebrated concert violinists and lifelong friends, in spite of their differing temperaments. Pierre is modest, sensitive and content with his lot; Marcel is hungry, driven, and pursues a solo career that takes him to the four corners of the world. After years apart, the two friends reunite when Pierre invites Marcel to his home for dinner. It is then that Marcel first meets Pierre s wife Romaine (Sabine Azéma, Cosmos), sparking a passionate affair that can only end in tragedy before the curtain falls.


As thrillingly intimate on film as it was on the stage, Mélo s César award-winning cast and inventive direction are highlighted in a stunning new restoration, revealing a hidden gem in Resnais celebrated body of work waiting to be rediscovered.


SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

  • Brand new 2K restoration of the film
  • High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentation
  • Original 2.0 Stereo soundtrack
  • Optional English subtitles
  • Newly-filmed introduction by critic Jonathan Romney
  • Archive interview with director Alain Resnais
  • Archive interview with producer Marin Karmitz
  • Archive interviews with actors Pierre Arditi and André Dussolier
  • Archive interview with script supervisor Sylvette Baudrot
  • Archive interview with set designer Jacques Saulnier
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original artwork
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Bilge Ebiri