Academy Award-winner BILLY BOB THORNTON to the screen as America’s favorite anti-hero, Willie Soke. Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus (TONY COX), to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is ‘the kid’ – chubby and cheery Thurman Merman (BRETT KELLY), a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie’s sliver of humanity. Mommy issues arise when the pair are joined by Academy Award®, Golden Globe and Emmy-winner KATHY BATES, as Willie’s horror story of a mother, Sunny Soke. A super butch super bitch, Sunny raises the bar for the gang’s ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior. Willie is further burdened by lusting after the curvaceous and prim Diane, played by Emmy Award-nominee CHRISTINA HENDRICKS, the charity director with a heart of gold and libido of steel.
Check out the new trailer:
You better watch out: BAD SANTA 2 is coming to town.
MARK WATERS directs BAD SANTA 2 from a screenplay by Johnny Rosenthal and Shauna Cross, based on characters by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa. GEYER KOSINSKI and ANDREW GUNN produce. Executive producers are Zanne Devine, David Thwaites, Gabriel Hammond, Daniel Hammond, Mark Waters, Jessica Tuchinsky, Adam Fields, and Doug Ellin. The film is a BROAD GREEN PICTURES and MIRAMAX® release. In theaters November 23, 2016.
Read Jim Batt’s positive We Are Movie Geeks review of POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING HERE
Andy Samberg stars in POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING, the hilarious comedy as a former boy-band member trying desperately to salvage his failing solo career, which is coming to Digital HD on August 16, 2016, On Demand onAugust 30, 2016, and Blu-rayTM and DVD on September 13, 2016, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. This side-splitting comedy goes behind the scenes as music sensation Conner4Real (Samberg) finds his popularity plummeting after a disastrous album release, leaving his fans, sycophants and rivals all wondering what to do when he’s no longer the dopest star of all. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on Blu-ray and DVD comes with over an hour of outrageous bonus features, including deleted scenes, a gag reel, celebrity interview outtakes and more!
Andy Samberg is Conner4Real, the breakout star of a popular but disbanded hip-hop group, whose life and career go off the rails just as he launches a highly publicized solo tour. Written by “Lonely Island” co-founders and SNL alums Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, and co-driected by Schaffer and Taccone, this razor-sharp, music-filled sendup of pop celebrity chronicles the exploits of the lovably egotistical singer-rapper (and his 32-person entourage) as he attempts to win back the hearts of his once-adoring fans.
Comedy mastermind Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) produced the film along with Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, the comedy collective known as The Lonely Island (“I’m on a Boat,” “Lazy Sunday”), who also wrote and star in the film. They are joined in the cast by a who’s who of comedy superstars, including Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusack, Imogen Poots, Chris Redd, Bill Hader, Kevin Nealon and Will Arnett. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping delivers laugh-out-loud cameos from such music-world VIPs as Justin Timberlake, Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, Carrie Underwood, DJ Khaleed, Seal, P!nk, Nas, , Usher, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Ringo Starr, , Simon Cowell, Questlove, Mariah Carey, RZA, T.I., and “Weird Al” Yankovic .
BLU-RAYAND DVD BONUS FEATURES:
45 Minutes of Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
Interview Outtakes
Bonus Footage
6 Music Videos
How to Donkey Roll
Big Boy Freestyle
Shooting Hoops
“Turn Up the Beef” Backstory
Fun at CMZ!
And More!
The film will be available on Blu-ray with DIGITAL HD and UltraViolet and DVD.
Blu-rayunleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of
DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.
DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
DIGITAL HD with UltraVioletlets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or
download.
This fall, Star Wars fans around the world, will experience a galaxy far, far away—up close and in eye-popping 3D—through the highly anticipated “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” 3D Collector’s Edition, rolling out beginning Oct. 31 and arriving in the United States and Canada on Nov 15.
For the first time—and just in time for the holidays—viewers can bring home Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 3D, encased in stunning, collectible packaging. The exclusive four-disc 3D Collector’s Edition contains the original theatrical release on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray™,Digital HD and DVD, along with originally released bonus features and brand-new bonus material, including additional deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes conversations with cast and crew and revealing, never-before released audio commentary by director J.J. Abrams.
Upon its debut last December, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” received rave reviews from both critics and audiences, and shattered box office records with over $936 million domestic and $2 billion worldwide. The film has since been nominated for five Academy Awards® and took home the BAFTA Award for Special Visual Effects. “The Force Awakens” re-ignited the Star Wars franchise and fans eagerly await the next installment, arriving in theaters Dec. 2017, as well as the first in a series of standalone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” premiering on Dec. 16, 2016.
Bonus features include*:
3D COLLECTOR’S EDITION BONUS FEATURES:
Audio Commentary with J.J. Abrams – Enter the mind of visionary director J.J. Abrams as he reveals the creative and complex choices made while developing the first film in the new Star Wars trilogy.
Foley: A Sonic Tale – Foley artists, consisting of old pros and new talent, unite to bring the world of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” alive through the matching of sound to action.
Sounds of the Resistance – Hear how the epic sound design of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” moves the Star Wars legacy forward.
Deleted Scenes – View never-before-shared scenes that didn’t make the film’s final cut.
Dressing the Galaxy – Costume Designer Michael Kaplan reveals how the costumes of the original Star Wars movies were re-envisioned for a new generation.
The Scavenger and the Stormtrooper: A Conversation with Daisy Ridley and John Boyega – The two new stars share the thrill of working together on the adventure of a lifetime and becoming part of the Star Wars legacy.
Inside the Armory – Take a fascinating tour through the design and creation of the weaponry in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Classic Bonus Features– These offerings from the April release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” include the complete story behind the making of the film, an unforgettable cast table read, insights from legendary composer John Williams and deleted scenes, as well as features that dig deeper into the creation of new characters such as BB-8, the design of the climactic lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo Ren, the film’s remarkable digital artistry and the Star Wars: Force for Change global aid initiative.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” saw the eagerly anticipated reteaming of original Star Wars stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill, along with Anthony Daniels, the only actor to have been in all seven Star Wars films, and Peter Mayhew. The returning cast was joined by newcomer Daisy Ridley, who beat out fierce competition to take the principal role of Rey; BAFTA Rising Star Award winner John Boyega (“Attack the Block,” “Imperial Dreams”) as reluctant stormtrooper Finn; Emmy® nominee Adam Driver (“Lincoln,” “Girls”) as the villainous Kylo Ren, and Golden Globe® winner Oscar Isaac (“Inside Llewyn Davis,” “The Bourne Legacy”) as Resistance pilot Poe Dameron.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”wasdirected by J.J. Abrams and written by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt. Lucasfilm president and eight-time Academy Award® nominee Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams, along with his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, are the film’s producers.
Having established a musical legacy with his iconic scores for the previous six films in the Star Wars saga, acclaimed composer John Williams returned to score “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,”ultimately garnering his 50th Oscar® nomination for it.
DISC SPECIFICATIONS:
FEATURE RUN TIME: Approximately 136 min.
RATING: PG-13 in U.S.; PG in CE; G in CF
ASPECT RATIO: Blu-ray Feature Film = 2.40:1
DVD Feature Film = 2.40:1
AUDIO: Blu-ray = English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio,
French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks
DVD = English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital,
Dark Horse – this year’s extraordinary new documentary about a pub barmaid from a poor Welsh mining town who takes on the “elite sport of kings” and breeds herself an improbable racehorse champion – crosses the DVD & Digital finish line August 23 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The Sony Pictures Classics release, a 2015 Sundance Film Festival winner directed by Louise Ormond (BAFTA nominated for Richard III: The King In The Car Park), won the Festival’s World Cinema Documentary Audience Award and was also premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. The film received an outstanding reception from audiences and critics alike, capturing a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and lauded as “heartwarming,” “irresistible,” “exhilarating,” “stirring,” “moving,” “delightful” and “inspiring.” Screendaily’s Allan Hunter concluded, “A heartwarming true story that has been expertly crafted into an irresistible, emotion-charged documentary.”
Dark Horse begins in 2000 in Cefn Forest, a small town in Wales, when Jan Vokes hears one of her pub regulars talking about owning a share of a racehorse. On her way home, Jan ponders, “I’ve bred pigeons; I’ve bred whippets; how hard could it be?” She convinces 23 friends and neighbors to pool their meager incomes to produce an unlikely foal who grows up to compete against some of the wealthiest horse families in the United Kingdom. Named ‘Dream Alliance’ after the group of investors, the horse suffers a near fatal accident, but then makes a remarkable recovery with the loving help of his owners, ultimately returning to the track for a heart-stopping comeback as a racehorse champion.
Dark Horse was produced by Judith Dawson and executive produced by Julian Ware, Lizzie Francke, Anna Higgs, Anna Miralis, and Adam Partridge. Director of Photography was Benjamin Kracun; Editor, Joby Gee; Line Producer, Jenny Mauthe. Additional photography was by Roger Chapman and Anne Nikitin was the composer. Special features include a photo gallery.
Synopsis:
Set in Wales, Dark Horseis the inspirational true story of a group of friends who decide to take on the elite “sport of kings” and breed themselves a racehorse. Raised on a slagheap allotment, their foal grows into an unlikely champion, beating the finest thoroughbreds in the land, before suffering a near fatal accident. Nursed back to health by the love of his owners, he makes a remarkable recovery, returning to the track for a heart-stopping comeback.
Dark Horse has a run time of 86 minutes and is rated PG for some mild thematic elements and language.
Woody Harrelson (The Hunger Games franchise) and Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games franchise) face off in the action-packed western The Duel arriving on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD), DVD (plus Digital) and Digital HD August 23 from Lionsgate. The film is currently available On Demand. In the small town of Helena, a Texas Ranger investigates a series of unexplained deaths and uncovers a dark secret about the town’s charismatic preacher. The Duel shoots its way on Blu-ray and DVD for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively.
A Texas Ranger (Hemsworth) investigates a series of murders in a small town led by a charismatic preacher (Harrelson). However, the routine undercover investigation soon turns personal for the Ranger who must solve the case before he loses everything to the mysterious town.
Now you can own THE DUEL Blu-ray. We Are Movie Geeks has two copies to give away. All you have t do is leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite Woody Harrelson movie? (mine is KINGPIN!)
It’s so easy. We’ll be picking the winners next week. Good Luck!
1. You must have a U.S. mailing address. 2. No purchase necessary.
BAD SANTA 2 returns Academy Award-winner BILLY BOB THORNTON to the screen as America’s favorite anti-hero, Willie Soke.
Check out the new Red Band Trailer:
Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus (TONY COX), to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is ‘the kid’ – chubby and cheery Thurman Merman (BRETT KELLY), a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie’s sliver of humanity.Mommy issues arise when the pair are joined by Academy Award®, Golden Globe and Emmy-winner KATHY BATES, as Willie’s horror story of a mother, Sunny Soke. A super butch super bitch, Sunny raises the bar for the gang’s ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior. Willie is further burdened by lusting after the curvaceous and prim Diane, played by Emmy Award-nominee CHRISTINA HENDRICKS, the charity director with a heart of gold and libido of steel.
MARK WATERS directs BAD SANTA 2 from a screenplay by Johnny Rosenthal and Shauna Cross, based on characters by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa. GEYER KOSINSKI and ANDREW GUNN produce. Executive producers are Zanne Devine, David Thwaites, Gabriel Hammond, Daniel Hammond, Mark Waters, Jessica Tuchinsky, Adam Fields, and Doug Ellin. The film is a BROAD GREEN PICTURES and MIRAMAX release.
“The patient’s screaming is disturbing me. Perform removal of vocal chords!”
DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D.screens Midnights this weekend (August 12th and 13th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge (3821 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108) as part of Destroy the Brain’s monthlyLate Night Grindhouse film series.
DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D. (“Medical Deviate” – aka: ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST), is a hybrid of the dumbshits-go-to-the-jungle-and are-eaten-by cannibals genre (think CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST), with some living dead shenanigans thrown in. It’s similar to Lucio Fulci’s ZOMBIE, but twice as cheesy and three times as funny. The gore effects are completely over the top and hilarious; disembowelments, impalements, slit throats, eye gouging, machetes through the head, death by outboard motor – all the stuff to keep the Late Night Grindhouse crowd happy.
Ian McCulloch returns from ZOMBIE and his dialogue and delivery are really funny, with the good doctor spewing such lines as, “I could easily kill you now, but I’m determined to have your brain!!!” (didn’t Anthony Hopkins say that in HANNIBAL?) Anyone who likes ridiculous gory 80’s Italian exploitation potboilers should definitely check out DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D. Along with McCulloch actor Dakar (Molotto) also appears from ZOMBIE only this time he has some more dialogue. Synonymous with these Italian films at the height of their popularity, the lead actress, in this case the lovely Alexandra Delli Colli (as Lori) takes off her clothes at every opportunity and Sherry Buchanan as Susan is also pleasant on the eye and has a pivotal shocking scene. But still it’s typical Italian schlock with bad dubbing, editing and script etc, as it moves from one scene to the next as the expedition’s party are picked off one by one by the local cannibals/zombies. One memorable moment comes early on with a man jumping out of a window and falling 20 stories to his doom, and when he hits the ground, the mannequin in his place loses an arm. Cut to dead guy on floor, and his arm is still attached! I saw DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D. several times at the drive-in back in the early ‘80s and can’t wait to see it on the big screen once again! Join me, won’t you?
TICKETS ARE $7 AND YOU CAN BUY THEM ONLINE VIA MOOLAH’S WEBSITE.
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.
A Facebook invite for Friday night’s event can be foundHERE
JULIE & JULIA will be screened Saturday August 13th, as part of Movies for Foodies, a regular film series put on by the chefs at Tenacious Eats.The event will take place at Marine Corps League Banquet Hall (5700 Leona St, St. Louis 63116)
Tenacious Eats ‘Movies for Foodies’ is a one-of-a-kind event where food is prepared and plated in front of you, in the form of a 5-course gourmet meal, while you watch a film on the big screen. Tenacious Eats only works with locally produced food procured by them and hard-to-find ingredients imported from places that specialize in them.
For each new film, the folks at Tenacious Eats write a new menu specific to that movie’s story. Sometimes the menu is literal and sometimes it is inspired interpretation. In all cases, each dining experience is different because each film is different. By integrating film and food, Movies for Foodies creates an original experience, a feast for the senses, an event that brings food and film, chefs and diners together.
A well baked movie with all the right spice and sauces, you couldn’t ask to sit down and eat to a better comedy than Nora Ephron’s JULIE & JULIA. Parallel stories have always made for good movies – especially when they’re true stories – and Nora Ephron’s JULIE & JULIA from 2009 is a really good one. Half of the movie focuses on Julie Powell (Amy Adams) an unfulfilled government employee in a New York where the memory of the 9/11 attacks is still fresh in people’s minds. So, she sets out to prepare every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook, all the while blogging about it. Meanwhile, we see Julia Child (Meryl Streep) during her years in Paris learning how to become the chef that everyone knows. Watching Meryl Streep as Julia Child is like sitting down to a meal at any of St. Louis’ finest restaurants and eating a 6-course gourmet meal (and 6 cocktails), which is exactly what you’ll be doing if you attend JULIE & JULIA at Tenacious Eats ‘Movies for Foodies’ event this Saturday
Here’s the menu for JULIA & JULIA:
“ I know…”
Filets de Poisson Poches au Vin Blanc (pg 208)
Pan seared rainbow trout filet, clarified butter, shallots, crisped leeks, white wine, sautéed heirloom tomatoes and sauce Béarnaise.
Escoffier says “Stuff the hen until she just can’t take it anymore…”
Galantine de Poularde (pg 440)
Lazy J’s free-range chicken stuffed with local Ozark mushrooms, Gruyere, toasted fennel, shallot, garlic and mission figs poached in duck fat.
“He’s Very Tall Dorothy”
Fromage Americain
Baetja Farms Tomme, Schlafly cheddar and St. Louis brie with house made brioche toast points.
“Vaches Enragees”
Boeuf Bourguignon (pg 315)
C & C Highland Grass fed Beef, lardoons, mire poix, butter, mushrooms, red wine, beef stock and pomme dauphinoise.
“Julia Hates Me…”
Pate de Canard en Croute (pg 571-576)
Boned out duck stuffed with Lazy J’s chicken liver pate and baked in a house made pastry dough.
“Happy 101st Birthday Julia”
Profiteroles (pg 175 & 590)
Orange ginger custard filled profiteroles topped with almond white chocolate ganache and accompanied by segmented oranges and candied almonds.
Please arrive for live music at 4:30PM.
Film and First Course starts at 6:00PM.
No dress code. Costumes always encouraged!
Tickets can be purchase at Brown Paper Tickets HERE
“Lincoln said, “With malice toward none, with charity to all.” Nowadays they say, “Think the way I do or I’ll bomb the daylights outta you.”
Frank Capra’s YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU screens at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater this weekend as part of their Classic Film Series. It’s Saturday, August 13th at 10:30am at the Hi-Pointe located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, MO 63117. The film will be introduced by Harry Hamm, movie reviewer for KMOX. Admission is only $5
A man from a family of rich snobs becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric Vanderhoff family in YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, a classic Frank Capra movie from 1938 which won the Oscar for ‘Best Picture’ and is considered to be one of the great director’s funniest films.
Jean Arthur as Alice is at her most beguiling in YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU and the park bench scene where she playfully entices Tony (Jimmy Stewart) to continue kissing her is utterly charming. The hilarious nightclub scene is without a doubt one of the most perfectly crafted comedic scenes ever.
While not providing the same dramatic opportunities of MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON or IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU does ably demonstrate how Frank Capra knew that James Stewart would be up to the task of handling the dramatic scenes in those later collaborations. Stewart once said that Jean Arthur was `the finest actress I ever worked with’. As always with Capra, the quality of the performances of the supporting cast is superb and the scenes between Lionel Barrymore and Jean Arthur are lovely as are the Vanderhoff family ensemble scenes but James Stewart and Jean Arthur on screen together is where this film shines.
You’ll have the opportunity to see YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU on the big screen this Saturday at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater. Doors open at 10:00am, the film starts at 10:30 and admission is only $5
Warner Bros. has released the first video for Christopher Nolan’s epic action thriller, DUNKIRK, which comes to cinemas July 21, 2017.
Tom Hardy (“The Revenant,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Inception”), Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies,” “Wolf Hall”), Kenneth Branagh (“My Week with Marilyn,” “Hamlet,” “Henry V”) and Cillian Murphy (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy) star, as well as newcomer Fionn Whitehead. The ensemble cast also includes Harry Styles (One Direction) making his feature film debut.
Christopher Nolan (“Interstellar,” “Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy) is directing DUNKIRK from his own original screenplay, utilizing a mixture of IMAX and 65mm film to bring the story to the screen.
DUNKIRK opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.
Taking place between 26 May to 4 June 1940, heavy German bombing had destroyed Dunkirk’s harbour, and there were hundreds of thousands of men on the beach, hoping to be rescued. The Luftwaffe attacked whenever the weather allowed, reducing the town of Dunkirk to rubble.
On 29 May, the evacuation was announced to the British public, and many privately owned boats started arriving at Dunkirk to ferry the troops to safety. This flotilla of small vessels famously became known as the ‘Little Ships’. The contribution these civilian vessels made to the Dunkirk evacuation gave rise to the term ‘Dunkirk spirit’, an expression still used to describe the British ability to rally together in the face of adversity.
Although the Germans had taken over a million Allied prisoners in three weeks at a cost of 60,000 casualties, the evacuation was a major boost to British morale and enabled the Allies to fight another day – even if that fight was to be on home turf, resisting the expected German invasion of Britain.
