Ben is Back is, first and foremost, a Christmas film. It's the best and the worst kind of Christmas film, the kind of Christmas film that gives you glimpses of the Christmas you've always dreamed of but puts it away in some cockeyed manger while immersing you in the kind of Christmas you've always had.
You know the one, right?
It's the kind of where you show up at the family gathering in a long-sleeve shirt hoping to hide the fresh track marks.
It's the kind of Christmas where Aunt Lulu's breath smells like Listerine because she thinks that'll hide the fifth of whiskey on her breath.
It's the kind of Christmas where Brittany shows up with a smile on her face, the latest bruises on her face masked by caked-on make-up and enough foundation to build another high-rise.
It's the kind of Christmas where you know these people, but you really don't and you're not sure you really want to.
Yeah, Ben is Back is a Christmas film.
In the film, Ben (Lucas Hedges) is back. The 19-year-old shows up unexpectedly at the family abode on Christmas Eve from his latest several month stint in some fancy schmantzy rehab center financed by Neal (Courtney B. Vance), his kinda stepfather and the wealthy husband of his loving but wary mother, Holly (Julia Roberts). Roberts's Holly is the kind of mother who never gives up on those she loves, because that's what mothers do. They never give up on those they love.
Sometimes, they probably should.
Ben, of course, swears that he's been doing so well he's been given a weekend pass.
Holly might deep down know better, but she wants to believe. She wants to believe precisely because we always want to believe in the people we love even when the people we love can't be believed.
Personally, I've found that to be quite often.
Holly is overjoyed to see him, but Roberts wears that familiar body language that anyone who's ever loved an addict wears. It's kind of like being welcomed with arms half open, an inner physical wall serving as a self-protection against what is known to be an inevitable hurt.
The hurt's gonna' happen. We never know how. We never know when. We just know.
Ben seems like a good guy, a sweetie really. It's easy to understand why Holly would choose to believe. It's easy to understand and even believe that Ben would happily saunter off with the family to their church's Christmas Eve service where his sister (Kathryn Newton), you know the good kid who always gets neglected when the bad kid shows up, will have a featured performance with the choir.
Much has been made of the fact that acclaimed writer/director Peter Hedges is directing his own son and increasingly acclaimed actor Lucas Hedges here. That's worth noting, I suppose, but it's also worth noting that they wisely avoid anything resembling over-sentimentality. If anything, Lucas Hedges wisely plays more toward that ever dominating presence known as Julia Roberts, embodying her no-nonsense, matter-of-factness with near repetition yet with an air of insincerity that makes us know rather quickly that he's trying to be something that he's not and he will likely never be.
There's something beneath Ben's facade, a something we will come to know as some variation of self-loathing or guilt or shame or all of the above. It's something Holly doesn't feel and likely has never experienced.
Ben is Back gives us both variations of Julia Roberts that we've come to know and love. There's Roberts, as Holly, opening the film with that 100-watt smile that both draws you in and distracts you, and there's Roberts, the Holllywood superstar not afraid to dress down, get dirty, and go deep within even the darkest of human emotions. Here, Roberts is raging and relentless in both her maternal instincts and her understandable yet unfathomable denial regarding the son she thinks she loves but maybe doesn't even really know. If this isn't Roberts's best performance yet, it's awfully close even when Hedges's script threatens to derail in the second half of the film.
Ben is Back does nearly derail, hindered by a precise character drama that becomes a credulity threatening crime thriller not too far removed from A Christmas Carol.
These are the ghosts of Ben's Christmases past and present and they are scary ghosts indeed.
Ben is Back is Roberts's film. While everything centers around Ben, Hedges wisely makes the film ultimately about Holly and her transformation into an older and wiser and more woke version of herself by film's end. It's a harrowing journey, not always a believable one but we believe in Holly's journey and that's a good part of what makes Ben is Back such an effective film.
While Ben is Back nearly derails, it never really derails. It feels, at times, a lot like the journey toward sobriety or healing or something resembling recovery. It's a film that dances on the edge of the cliff, looks over the cliff at the devastating chasm of jagged rocks below and pulls back. It's funny and dramatic, melodramatic and just plain unbelievable all wrapped into one. The unbelievable really kicks off when the quiet family drama becomes something more akin to a caper flick, our fiercely devoted mother-son combo off chasing through the streets of Ben's past in search of a kidnapped family dog taken by a person unfamiliar to Holly yet very familiar to Ben.
It seems absurd, really, to pin the hopes of an entire film on the quirky notion of kidnapped dog. Yet, that's exactly what Hedges does and the story that follows is gloriously brilliant in all its absurdity. Holly follows Ben everywhere, again because that's what mothers do or that's what mothers are supposed to do. These scenes, I'm not even sure I believed them, but I found myself drawn into the journey and into Holly's increasingly blind rage as she confronts and cajoles and refuses to give up on her son despite these things she's learning about her son that no mother should ever have to learn.
Ben is still her son.
If you've ever been through anything, especially some sort of childhood trauma, you want a mom like Holly who, even in her denial, will move mountains and rattle cages and love you back to life.
We all need someone who will find a way to love us back to life.
Peter Hedges doesn't attempt to explain things away. He doesn't make excuses for Ben's addiction nor does he attempt to explain away Holly's denial or her subsequent learning and embrace of harsh life truths.
He just believes. He believes in truth. He believes in commitment. He believes in unconditional love and the healing power of presence and bonds that can never be broken.
Amidst the beauty of its flaws, Ben is Back is a special film. It's a Christmas film, it really, really is. Yet, it's something more and that something more comes alive in scene after scene. It's a film carried by the powerful grace of Roberts's performance and the sensitive, disciplined nuances of Hedges' performance that is mature far beyond his years. The supporting performances are equally fine, especially those of Courtney B. Vance and Kathryn Newton.
I'm not sure I can say that you'll love Ben is Back, but I can say it's a journey you won't easily forget and it's a film that will resonate whether you're familiar with the recovery journey or not. This is both the best and the worst that a Christmas movie can be, simultaneously harsh in its reality and unwavering in its fierce, hard-earned optimism.
Ben is Back. It's not enough to just hope for it ... we have to be willing to fight for it.
© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic


NEW Retrospective documentary on Fright Night.
You’re So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night (Documentary) – OFFICIAL EXTENDED TRAILER (2016)
Fright Night is one of the most beloved horror films of the 80s. Featuring exclusive interviews from key members of the series, go behind the scenes of Fright Night and Fright Night Part 2 with this ALL-NEW retrospective feature documentary.
From Dead Mouse Productions and Gary Smart producer of LEVIATHAN: THE STORY OF HELLRAISER & HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II, comes the new FRIGHT NIGHT documentary YOU’RE SO COOL, BREWSTER: THE STORY OF FRIGHT NIGHT. LEVIATHAN proved that an independent documentary supported solely by the fans and a dedicated team of filmmakers can result in a fully detailed retrospective documentary.


Om Bheem Bush is a Telugu movie released on 22 Mar, 2024. The movie is directed by Sree Harsha Konuganti.
CAST: Sree Vishnu, Priyadarshi, Rahul Ramakrishna, Preethi Mukundhan, Ayesha Khan, Srikanth in lead roles.
TELUGU SWAG RATING:
TELUGU 360 (Rating: 2.75/5):
Finally, Om Bheem Bush is a film without logics and it has loads of entertainment. For those who are interested in such attempts can go watch this quirky entertainer.
Great Andhra (Rating: 2.5/5):
Overall, Om Bheem Bush has an age-old story and the same-old ghost comedy, but the leading trio’s timing comedy in verbal banter makes it worth watching. The one-liners from the three leading actors saved the movie from routine plot and other drawbacks. It would have been a total bore fare if Sri Vishnu, Rahul Rama Krishna, and Priyadarshi were not there in the leading roles. Om Bheem Bush is an time-pass comedy movie and it is not for the people who don’t enjoy surreal and nonsense comedy movies like Jathi Ratnalu.
Mirchi9 (Rating: 2.5/5):
Overall, ‘Om Bheem Bush’ offers hilarious moments and freshness through its supernatural element but fails to raise the bar, making it a one-time watch for those seeking harmless fun.
123TELUGU (Rating: 3.25/5):
On the whole, Om Bheem Bush promises an enjoyable cinematic journey enriched by decent performances and nice storytelling. Despite minor pacing issues and occasional lapses in logic, the film remains a decent choice for weekend entertainment. Those who can overlook these flaws will find the movie’s humour truly captivating. It’s the best option to enjoy this weekend watching this fun flick.
Times Of India (Rating: 3/5):
On a whole, ‘Om Bheem Bush’ is an enjoyable cinematic journey one can forget logics and experience magic of superlative performances aided with hilarious dialogues.


The Cat Returns is one of my favorite movies by Studio Ghibli, then I found out there was a prequel, Whisper of the Heart. They are both great, actually any movie by Studio Ghibli is really great. I found this oh so fun clip on YouTube while searching for Whisper of the Heart on the net and it made my day, no week, no month...oh I could go on and on. I don't even need to say how much I love love love the movie this trailer is actually for... oh, watch it you'll love it!!!


Sam Worthington has insisted over the years that he isn't the tough guy he often plays on the big screen, but the star of "Avatar," "Clash of the Titans" and "Terminator Salvation" did little to disprove his macho persona when we met in his downtown Chicago hotel last week — at least at first.
Worthington, who was born in England but raised in Australia, greeted me sporting a hooded sweatshirt and what looked like week-old stubble. He took a seat on a sofa and said he had never been to Chicago before but heard it was a good place to eat steak and have beers from friends who filmed the Batman movies in the city.
"Stunt guys," said Worthington, 35, leaning forward on the sofa.
It's not surprising Worthington is chummy with stuntmen. The bricklayer-turned-actor has worked with several over the years and seems almost envious of their jobs. If it wasn't for the fact that he physically can't do certain stunts — including the flip he seems to do in his ad for the video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" — he says he would do them all himself.
"I don't mind doing (stunts)," Worthington said. "That to me is the exciting part of the job. Plus, I think the audience demands it. I think if they suddenly cut away and you realize there is a stunt guy, you're out of the movie. I try to do it as much as I possibly can. Like the car chase (in 'Man on a Ledge'). I love doing that. I got to spin the car around the graveyard. I'll never get to do that in real life."
In "Man on a Ledge," which hits theaters Friday, Worthington plays an escaped convict — locked away for stealing a diamond — whose threat to jump off a building buys time for his brother to locate the diamond and prove Worthington's character's innocence. Worthington said he required 32 stitches when he cut his leg open jumping through a glass window in the film but, of course, he played down the injury.
"You get yourself back up, get a couple stitches and come back the next day," Worthington said. "It wasn't life-threatening. … My nephew gets more (scars) than I do." While he won't complain too often about an injury or demanding stunt, Worthington has admitted in interviews that there are aspects of the job he could do without: Kissing scenes, photo shoots, and, well, interviews.
(It should also be noted that he refuses to own a phone. Why? Because he can. And because he doesn't want people to be able to reach him directly.)
Worthington, although talkative throughout the interview, seemed most comfortable speaking about anything but himself. He especially loved talking about movies he's not in. And rather than discuss them like an A-list actor breaking down the craft, he sounded more like an excited fan.
"One of the best movies of the year was 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,'" said Worthington, listing his favorite action films. "That's not just an action movie, it's a prison film. Once the movie goes to (the primate shelter), it's a prison film and you're rooting for the (expletive) monkeys. When (Caesar) says, 'Nooo,' I lost it. I'm hitting my girlfriend (on the arm), like, 'You don't understand. I didn't see that coming.'"
Worthington also delved into "Die Hard with a Vengeance" and "I Am Legend" and called the action film genre, as a whole, "underrated." He said the main reason he likes starring in action films is simply because he likes watching them.
By this point in the conversation, it was clear Worthington is the kind of guy Maxim magazine writes about — and for. Not as clear? Why he feels he isn't as macho as he is made out to be. And so I asked him to prove it.
"I like the Kardashians," said Worthington, now leaning back comfortably on the sofa. "I watch 'em. When Kim got the botox in her face and it made her face go weepy, that was funny. I also watch 'America's Next Top Model.' I've always been a big fan."
It didn't make sense. Why would would an action star watch those shows — let alone one who refuses to join the 21st century and own a phone or join Facebook or Twitter?
"It's easy to watch," Worthington said. "And it's entertaining. That's what TV should be. Like 'Man on a Ledge.' Sometimes we overthink things, but we're supposed to entertain. That's what our job is."


Naomie Harris says an actor sexually assaulted her but got away with it because of his star status. It's an all-too-familiar story, and the English actress opened up about her experience in a new interview.
Naomie Harris says "huge star" assaulted her in an audition
Harris told the Daily Mail of the time a big-name actor "slid his hand up her skirt" during a read-through.
She didn't name names, but she recalled how multiple authority figures observed the disturbing incident and did nothing about it.
Harris said: "What was so shocking about it was the casting director was there and the director, and of course no one said anything because he was – he is – such a huge star."
Despite the violating moment, the James Bond actress noted that she feels "very lucky" because it is the "only #MeToo incident" in her career.
Harris, 45, has been acting in film and TV since the late 1980s. It's unclear if she acted in the project after she was assaulted during the audition.
Harris also believes the industry has changed for the better in the aftermath of #MeToo. She even witnessed a perpetrator "immediately removed" after inappropriate behaviour on a recent project, she told the Daily Mail.
Harris has had dozens of screen roles on British television and in big movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, Miami Vice, and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. She'll next star in the American TV series The Man Who Fell to Earth.


New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) has announced its new 2050 Fellowship Program to begin with the 2013/14 season. Fellowship recipients include Hilary Bettis, Lileana Blain-Cruz, (Mashuq) Deen, Reginald L. Douglas, Will Davis, And Michel Hausmann.
The program expands NYTW’s current “Emerging Artists of Color Fellowship” to support a wider range of artists of varied backgrounds and aesthetics. The new fellowship is comprised of artists whose work reflects and imagines the national cultural identity in the year 2050. The six 2050 fellows were chosen out of over 180 applications.
NYTW will provide fellowship recipients with essential support to assist their development, as well as access to the resources of an off-Broadway producing theatre and community of artists. Fellows will attend retreats and monthly meetings, participate in developmental readings and presentations to offer feedback and support for other fellows’ work.
They will be granted rehearsal space, office facilities and equipment, casting assistance, mentoring, as well as additional opportunities and forms of support determined on an individual basis. They’ll also be awarded a stipend and project funds, and offered group theatre-outing opportunities.
The 2050 Fellowship recipients:
HILARY BETTIS is a playwright and screenwriter. Awards, residencies, and commissions include: O’Neill National Playwrights Conference (Alligator), James McLure Fellowship New River Dramatists, Sloan/EST Commission (Dakota Atoll), John N. Wall Fellowship Sewanee Writer’s Conference, Carol Ostrow commission (The Desert), Blackburn nomination (Mexico), Cherry Jones/Abingdon Theatre Company Grant. Finalist and semifinalist include: the Source Festival and Bay Area Playwrights Festival (Alligator), New Dramatists, and Juilliard Lila Acheson Wallace Fellowship. Readings and workshops include: New Georges, The Lark, EST, Abingdon, Barrow Street, Barefoot Theatre Company, Pavement Group, Project Y, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Carolina Coastal University, New River Dramatists, The Actors Studio, and The Aurora Fox in Denver. Productions include: American Girls (off-Broadway at 45th St. Theater) and The Mud Hole (off-off-Broadway F*IT Club). Publications include Smith & Kraus, McFarland & Company, Original Works (American Girls). Film screenings include Williamsburg Film Festival, IFS Festival (best actress), Nashville Film Festival finalist (B’Hurst). She is a member of SAG, AEA, Dramatists Guild, The Drama League, TCG, Playwrights’ Center, and Fractured Atlas. She is a member of EST and an affiliated artist with New Georges. She is a staff writer for offoffonline.com, and has contributed articles and essays to TDF Stages and HowlRound. She is currently working on an untitled feature with Oscar winning producer Mara Kassin.
LILEANA BLAIN-CRUZ is a director from New York City and Miami. Recent projects include Christina Anderson’s Hollow Roots which premiered this past January in the Under the Radar Festival at the Public Theater and A Guide to Kinship and Maybe Magic, a collaboration with choreographer Isabel Lewis and playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins at Dance New Amsterdam. She is the co-founder and director of the ensemble company Overhead Projector, which devises new work. She received her MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama, where she directed Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights, The Taming of the Shrew, Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys, Buffalo Maine, Cavity and Fox Play as part of the Carlotta Festival of New Plays. She was one of the Co-artistic directors of the 2011-2012 Yale Cabaret, where she directed Funnyhouse of a Negro, Vaska Vaska Gl√∂m, and SALOME. She was an Artistic Associate of The Exchange and The Orchard Project, a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, and an Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fellow at Arena Stage. She is a graduate of Princeton University. Lileana recently directed a new translation of The Bakkhai at the Fisher Center of Performing Arts at Bard College and is currently working on an adaptation of the Alejandro Jodorowsky film, EL TOPO.
WILL DAVIS is an Austin based theatre maker focused on new and devised work. Both kinetic and visceral, you will know Will’s work by the way it moves. Will has been recognized by the Chicago Tribune, TimeOut Chicago, The Austin-American Statesmen, and the Austin Chronicle, which listed Will’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as a highlight of 2011. The play also received Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Direction awards by the Austin Critics Table Awards. Recent work includes: Lisa D’Amour’s The Cataract, The Boy From the Circus, a devised ghost play for the hidden life of playwright William Inge, and Colossal, a new play about football and feats of strength scored with a live drum line and head on collisions. Upcoming projects include Plays for Horses, a devised work for horses, and MacBeth in the dark. Will holds a B.F.A. in Theater Studies from The Theatre School at DePaul University, an MFA in Directing from UT Austin, and is a graduate of the Literary Apprenticeship Program at Steppenwolf Theater Company.
(MASHUQ) DEEN is a first-generation playwright and performer. Full-length plays: Shut-Up! (Dennis Johnston Playwriting Prize, James Baldwin Award); Where Children Play: the Story of Tank and Horse (Berkshire Fringe Festival); Draw the Circle (produced at InterAct Theatre and Hampshire College, after staged readings at the Public Theater, Dixon Place, Berksire Fringe, NYTW at Dartmouth, Passage Theatre, Queens Theatre in the Park). He is an affiliate artist with the Hemispheric Institute for Performance in NYC, which will present a reading of his work-in-progress 1984, about the Sikh massacres in India. Other: alumni member of the Public Theater Emerging Writers Group, Tofte Lake Center’s Emerging Artist Retreat. His short plays have appeared at numerous theaters around NYC. He received his MFA at the Actors Studio Drama School/New School of Drama in 2006. (DeenThePlaywright.weebly.com)
REGINALD L. DOUGLAS is a freelance director with a passion for all aspects of new play development. The inaugural Van Lier Directing Fellow at the Lark Play Development Center, Reginald has directed extensively throughout New York at venues including Culture Project, Access Theater, LaMama/Fringe, Harlem School of the Arts, and many others, and regionally at McCarter Theatre and Luna Stage. He has assistant directed for several leading players in the field on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, including Emily Mann, Sam Gold, Peter DuBois, Sam Buntrock, Ethan McSweeny, Daniel Beaty, Jo Bonney, Lynn Nottage, Zach Braff and others, and worked at several notable theaters including Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage Theatre, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company and McCarter Theatre, where he served as a directing and producing assistant for Artistic Director Emily Mann’s 20th Anniversary season. A nominee for the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation’s prestigious Gielgud and Ockrent Fellowships, Reginald will next direct the premiere production of Ruby Place Nest on the Ground by Angelica Chéri at the new Pershing Square Signature Center and in the DC Black Theater Festival.
MICHEL HAUSMANN is a Venezuelan-born theater director, producer and writer. He is the co-founder and artistic director of Palo de Agua, a leading Venezuelan theater production company. Hausmann’s Off Broadway credits include the New York Premiere of Vassily Sigarev’s Black Milk at East 13th Theater and the New York premiere of The Color of Desire by Pulitzer Prize winning author Nilo Cruz at the Repertorio Espa√±ol. In Venezuela he directed the world premiere of Los Navegaos, the last play by renowned Venezuelan playwright Isaac Chocr√≥n as well as successful productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Producers that enjoyed an audience of 170,000 spectators. With Moisés Kaufman, he co-directed the Venezuelan premiere of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. Michel received a BA from Emerson College and is currently finishing an M.F.A. in directing at Columbia University under Anne Bogart and Brian Kulick.


He was The master of parody boasted a talent for delivering the most ridiculous lines in the straightest way possible, cloaking outright absurdity in obliviousness. He received his first big film break playing sturdy Commander J. Adams in the sci-fi flick Forbidden Planet.
Leslie Nielsen, who traded in his dramatic persona for inspired bumbling as a hapless doctor in "Airplane! He was The Canadian-born actor died from complications from pneumonia at a hospital near his home at p. Kelly said in a statement. Frank Drebin in 'The Naked Gun' series of pictures, but who enjoyed a more than year career in motion pictures and television," said Kelly. Speaking to Manitoba radio station CJOB68, Nielsen's nephew Doug Nielsen said that the actor had been in the hospital with pneumonia for about 12 days and that the infection had taken an increasing toll in recent days.
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Watch the video. Lieutenant Frank Drebin discovers that his ex-girlfriend's new beau is involved in a plot to kidnap a scientist who advocates solar energy. Frank Drebin comes out of retirement to help Police Squad infiltrate a gang of terrorists planning to detonate a bomb at the Academy Awards. A parody of Top Gun in which a talented but unstable fighter pilot must overcome the ghosts of his father and save a mission sabotaged by greedy weapons manufacturers. A faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the Sun. Can Ted Striker save the day and get the shuttle back on track - again? Sight gags and non-sequiturs dominate this spoof of police dramas. The six episodes formed the basis for the very successful "Naked Gun" film franchise. A group of good-hearted, but incompetent misfits enter the police academy, but the instructors there are not going to put up with their pranks. A star pilot and his sidekick must come to the rescue of a Princess and save the galaxy from a ruthless race of beings known as Spaceballs.
Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and later worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to study theatre at the Neighborhood Playhouse. He made his acting debut in , appearing in 46 live television programs a year. Nielsen made his film debut in , with supporting roles in several drama, Western, and romance films produced between the s and the s. Although his notable performances in the films Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure gave him standing as a serious actor, Nielsen later gained enduring recognition for his deadpan comedy roles during the s, after being cast against type for the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker comedy film Airplane! Nielsen was born on 11 February in Regina, Saskatchewan. Nielsen's half-uncle Jean Hersholt was an actor known for his portrayal of Dr. Christian in a radio series of that name, and the subsequent television series and films. Then I would take them home and show them 8-by glossies, and things changed quite drastically. So I began to think that maybe this acting business was not a bad idea, much as I was very shy about it and certainly without courage regarding it.


Review: How To Live A Jellicle Life (Electric Arcade)
Two trains, one delayed, and a rail replacement bus service got me to Brighton. The venue, as described by Linus, was cool in every sense of the word. Situated on the seafront, the cold January air that wafted in through the open doors left no audience member sans coat. How, then, did Linus manage to perform his powerpoint assisted performance with such aplomb that I forgot about my freezing appendages? His furry costume probably helped. How To Live A Jellicle Life is a wonderfully crafted hour of bizarre, TEDTalk-esque, Cats inspired, Oh-so-Jellicle fun, it would be a shame for you to miss it.
It’s quite hard to pin down exactly why I loved this show. I’ve never seen Cats, the musical or the film, and knew absolutely nothing about it. I’m not particularly interested in Musical Theatre, I don’t know what a Jellicle is, and I had no real inclination to find out. A hearty thanks to Linus then, for showing me all the magic my cynical ass was missing.
Linus is in a cat costume, for obvious reasons, and over the course of an hour he leads us through a heavily comic-sans reliant powerpoint that answers all the questions you could possibly have (and some you definitely don’t have) about Cats; inspiring us all to be more Jellicle. If you don’t know anything about Cats, don’t worry because Linus will explain it all. The primary characters, the premise of the Jellicle Ball, The Heaviside Layer, the contradictions of Macavity, all are demystified through dance, song, and futuristic PowerPoint effects.
Linus’ bizarre obsession with the much-derided musical adaptation is contagious, and all his hilarious observations are indisputably well-researched. Of course Taylor Swift is unable to shake off the character of Bombalurina, just take a look at her last album! Of course twin cats Tantomile and Coricopat are inspired by Jedward, just take a look at their…tension! Even in the cold, it is a pleasure to be in Linus’ presence as he leads us through the lessons we can glean from Cats. Be more Jellicle, be relaxed, be sexy, be into the theatre, wear a mask, don’t break every human law, tell all your friends about the show (this is me doing that), and give the film a chance. Do that, then we can all meet for a Jellicle drink in The Heaviside Layer, mine's a saucer of milk.
Catch How To Live A Jellicle Life: Life Lessons From The 2019 Hit Movie Musical ‘Cats’ on tour. All dates and venues are available here.
Photo by Dave Bird


Tributes have been flooding in for the popular and talented French actor, who has died at the age of just 37 following a skiing accident.
Although his acting career was cut tragically short, he has still starred in some classics of French cinema.
Here are some of his best-known roles.
Les Égarés (Strayed) – 2003
Ulliel was named Best Male Newcomer for his performance as a wild teenager who helps Emmanuel Beart and her young son as they flee Nazi-occupied Paris in this adaptation of Gilles Perrault’s novel Le Garçon aux yeux gris (The Boy with the Grey Eyes)
Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) – 2004
The following year, he won a César for Most Promising Actor for his role in director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s drama telling the story of a young woman’s search for her fiancé, who disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War I.
He had been nominated for the same award in each of the two previous years – including for Les Égarés.
Hannibal Rising – 2007
His first English-language role is perhaps his best-known among anglophones. Based on the Thomas Harris novel, it reveals Hannibal Lecter’s evolution from vengeful Nazi hunter to cannibalistic serial killer.
Saint Laurent – 2014
Ulliel took the lead role in this 2014 biopic of the fashion designer’s life between 1967 and 1976 – when he was at the peak of his influence on haute couture.
He was nominated for a César – losing out to his opposite number in a rival biopic – and won a Lumières Award for Best Actor.
Juste la fin du monde (It’s Only the End of the World) – 2016
Two years after he was nominated for a Best Actor César for the first time for his role in Saint Laurent, the actor won the award for his performance in Xavier Dolan’s gut-wrenching-yet-tender drama as a terminally ill writer who returns home to tell his family his days are numbered. The film also won the Grand Prix at Cannes.
Les confins du monde (To the Ends of the World) – 2018
In this drama set during the First Indochina War, Ulliel plays the only survivor of a massacre in which his brother has perished. Blinded by revenge, he rejoins the forces in search of the assassins – but a chance encounter changes everything.
La vengeance au triple galop – 2021
His most recent performance, as Docteur Danley in this TV movie spoof of the 1980s Australian drama Return to Eden is a bit of a change from his usual fare.
It also stars Audrey Lamy, Marion Cotillard and Alex Lutz – best known as Catherine from the comedy shorts Catherine et Liliane.
He will also feature in the new Marvel series Moon Knight, which is due on the Disney Plus streaming site in March, while director Emily Atef’s life-affirming drama Plus Que Jamais (More Than Ever) is in post-production.


Can the film and television industries handle another strike, this time from the actors unions: SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists)? No way; after the three-month-plus Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike against the studios and producers, the entertainment industries still haven't recovered.
One caveat; as a filmmaker, I have worked with SAG in the past, employing members for a few movie projects. I have never had a problem with the union, and they were always extremely helpful in securing SAG talent for my films.
Here are the details: SAG and AFTRA's contracts with the studios and producers (AMPTP, Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) expire June 30, 2008 (yes, you read that right - 4 days from today), and there has been zero progress. The issues at hand are contract negotiations including key issues new media and DVD royalties.
There is another big issue which has kept the two unions from sitting back down with the AMPTP: fighting between the two. AFTRA has a potential deal they want to solidify by July, but SAG isn't happy with their terms, and so there is a major battle happening between leadership and members, and there doesn't appear to be much in the way of progress in the past few weeks.
Unlike the WGA strike, which mostly affected a lot of new productions without scripts from moving forward but allowing existing projects with scripts to continue shooting, an actors' strike will absolutely paralyze the industry. No one can work, and a high number of movies and TV shows feature union actors, so everything will be shut down. Not to mention that actors won't do interviews to promote upcoming movies, which will hurt the box office and affect next month's huge San Diego Comic-Con.
So how does this affect current projects, or those in the immediate future? ComingSoon.net posted an article a few weeks ago detailing what's happening with movies. Many films had to start by February or March so they could be wrapped before the potential strike, otherwise they'd have to wait until after a resolution is made - and many big budget movies have already been shelved. Other films, like The Da Vinci Code's prequel, Angels and Demons, has forged ahead despite the risk of a strike. The movie was already delayed by the WGA strike, so the producers were determined to get the film into production.
I think it's a bit risky to try and forge ahead with a production, even if there is a planned break if a strike occurs, much like what the fourth Terminator and second Transformers are planning. In fact, Transformers 2's crew will focus on visual effects and some second unit work (except stunts, since stuntmen are covered by SAG) if the strike happens.


Video ads deliver messages on the big screen to audiences waiting to see a motion picture - who are generally in a relaxed and happy mood.We compare the prices, film times, cinema features and overall summary of each theater in Decatur.There are many ways for people to find entertainment in this day and age, but Decatur, IN. theater is, was and shall be the main source for it.Read below for business times, daylight and evening hours, street address, and more.Use the following map to find theaters in Decatur and its surrounding areas.
AMC Movie Theater Decatur GA: 2042 Lawrenceville Hwy
Movie Theater and Cinema Advertising in Over 200 CitiesDecatur Movie Tickets and Theaters Find movie theaters and films playing in Decatur.
You can also browse a list of all theaters and movies by clicking the buttons to the right.Movie times, tickets, directions, trailers, and more for Cinemark Roanoke and XD, located at 850 E.
Decatur movie theater to open Sunday - video.wpta21.comExperiencing a great flick in a fantastic movie theater is virtually a universal love.Movie showtimes data provided by Webedia Entertainment and is subject to change.Get Movie Theaters business addresses, phone numbers, driving directions, maps, reviews and more.Movie times, buy movie tickets online, watch trailers and get directions to AMC CLASSIC Decatur 12 in Decatur, AL.View the latest AMC Decatur 12 movie times, box office information, and purchase tickets online.
Decatur Drive-In Theater, Decatur, IN 46733 - Facts
AMC North DeKalb Mall 16 (closed) in Decatur, GA 30033Find showtimes and movie theaters near zip code 46733 or Decatur, IN.
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DECATUR, Ind. (WANE) - For the first time since 1966 movie lovers can enjoy the silver screen in Decatur.
Carmike 8 in Decatur, Alabama - find-around.comMovie theater advertising is a great method to reach viewers in a captive setting.
Phoenix Theatres EntertainmentPrincess Theatre Center for the Performing Arts, Decatur's Historic Theatre; A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Movie times, buy movie tickets online, watch trailers and get directions to AMC North Dekalb 16 in Decatur, GA.Search Location: This site features information on Carmike Cinemas, a national movie theater operator headquartered in Columbus, Georgia.
AMC North Dekalb 16 in Decatur - Yahoo Local
Movie Theaters / Cinemas in or near Decatur, Indiana INNow, a new movie theater is going to be opened in the same space in late 2018 or early 2019 (The Dispatch).Similar Movie Theaters About: Housed within the North Dekalb Mall, AMC North DeKalb Mall 16 offers over ten screens for your viewing pleasure.


At the end of Act 5, sc.4 of Macbeth, Malcolm gives the following order to his army:
Let every soldier hew him down a bough
And bear 't before him. Thereby shall we shadow
The numbers of our host and make discovery
Err in report of us.
Shakespeare could not represent an entire army on his stage, so he resorts to his usual technique of having a character describe what is happening offstage and out of sight. In Act 5, sc. 5, a Messenger reports to him as follows:
As I did stand my watch upon the hill,
I looked toward Birnam, and anon, methought
The wood began to move.
From the strong emotion displayed by the Messenger and the violent reaction of Macbeth to the news he brings, the viewer can imagine the effect produced by an entire army marching toward the castle with each man holding a branch of a tree above his head. The Messenger describes it as "a moving grove." Macbeth appears totally unnerved by this development, not so much because it is an advancing army as because it corresponds exactly to what one of the witches' Apparitions foretold in Act 4, sc.1:
Macbeth shall never vanquished be until
Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
Shall come against him.


What’s better than a night out in San Antonio? At the Majestic Theater, you can grab a drink, have a seat, and enjoy the show!
The only thing is, the real show doesn’t even start until everyone has shuffled away and the lights are out.
Find out shat happens behind the curtains at the Majestic Theater on a ghost tour with US Ghost Adventures. You’ll learn the history and the hauntings that make up San Antonio’s spooky past.
Bright Lights and Bigger Dreams
This stunning theater opened on June 14th, 1929. It was a beacon to the world, saying, “San Antonio is here!”
Four thousand people shuffled into their seats and took in a movie on a screen larger than their home.
But the biggest attraction, more so than any star or musician, was the temperature. Yep — the Majestic Theater was the first theater in Texas to be fully air-conditioned.
Men and women proudly wore their winter coats in the middle of summer. Apparently, the theater managers cranked up the cooling so much there was snow on the marquee!
When the Great Depression hit, less than a year after opening, the Majestic shuttered its doors. Luckily, the owners quickly realized people needed entertainment amid national tragedy and had a grand re-opening, marketing the theater as a place where your worries don’t exist.
Encore! Encore! Encore!
The allure of this theater is so great that some performers have kept putting on a show.
In the mid-1940s, a ballet troupe came and performed a twirling and mesmerizing piece before a packed audience. After the intermission, a light from overhead came loose, fell, and crushed one of the principal dancers. The audience rushed out, and the touring dancers all went home—all except for one.
Late at night, when only the ghost light illuminates the stage, the janitors and night guards often see a soloist performing leaps and bounds. She lands each jump as if on a cloud, utterly silent in her movements.
She is replaying her final moments over and over, only this time she gets to complete her hypnotic dance.


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With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son. Dir: Wes Anderson With: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston Adventure | Comedy | Drama 119 mins.
An Officer and a Gentleman
A young man must complete his work at a Navy Flight school to become an aviator, with the help of a tough gunnery sergeant and his new girlfriend. Dir: Taylor Hackford With: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith Drama | Romance 124 mins.
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Taking place towards the end of WWII, 500 American Soldiers have been entrapped in a camp for 3 years. Beginning to give up hope they will ever be rescued, a group of Rangers goes on a dangerous mission to try and save them. Dir: John Dahl With: Benjamin Bratt, Joseph Fiennes, James Franco Action | Drama | War 132 mins.
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15 Dec, 2021
Two Operas: Giacomo Puccini's Suor Angelica and Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana in one incredible performance.
Featuring - Suor Angelica Cast
SISTER ANGELICA (Soprano) Antonia Cifrone
THE PRINCESS, her aunt (Contralto) Isebel del Paoli
Director: Giuseppe Acquaviva
Conductor: Luigi Travaglio
Featuring - Cavalleria Rusticana Cast
Santuzza, a young peasant woman Antonia Cifrone
Turridu, a young peasant Ugo Tarquini
Lucia, his mother Adele Lupo
Alfio, a carter Luca Simonetti
Lola, his wife Isebel del Paoli
Suor Angelica is the tragic tale of a woman who bears a child out of wedlock and is sent to a convent to repent for her sins. The opera follows the sisters on a particular holiday in their year, a celebration of May and the start of spring, when the evening sun lights the font in their courtyard golden. The opening of the opera follows the normal daily routines of the nuns: we see them being scolded for speaking out of turn or not completing tasks, gossiping about their sisters, and laughing together. Life continues as normal until one of the Touriers brings news of a splendid coach outside. The bell rings announcing a visitor, and the Abbess calls Sister Angelica to greet her aunt, the Princess, who has come to ask her to sign some papers. Despite the Abbess’s warnings, Angelica is overcome with emotion at her Aunt’s presence, the first visitor she’s had in seven years. She cannot hold her peace and asks frantically for news of her son. The Aunt’s news is devastating. Two years previously, Angelica’s son was stricken with a mortal sickness, and nothing could save him. In her distress, Angelica resolves there is only one option left for her to see her son again. A clarity comes over her as she makes a poison from her herb garden and drinks it. In her agony she screams for the sisters that she has committed suicide, and an offstage prayer asking for forgiveness can be heard. As Angelica dies, there is a miracle of light and the figure of the Virgin appears with a young boy.
Synopsis Cavalleria Rusticana
A village in Sicily, circa 1900. At dawn on Easter Sunday, Turiddu sings in the distance of his love for Lola, wife of the carter Alfio. She and Turiddu had been a couple before he joined the army. When he returned and found her married to Alfio, he seduced Santuzza but now has abandoned her and rekindled his relationship with Lola. Later in the morning, a distraught Santuzza approaches the tavern of Mamma Lucia, Turiddu’s mother, who tells her that her son is away buying wine. But Santuzza knows that Turiddu has been seen during the night in the village. Alfio arrives with a group of men, boasting of his horses—and of Lola. He asks Mamma Lucia if she has any more of her good wine. When she says that Turiddu has gone to get more, Alfio replies that he saw him near his house that same morning. Lucia is surprised, but Santuzza tells her to keep quiet. As the villagers follow the procession to church, Santuzza stays behind and pours out her grief about Turiddu to Mamma Lucia. The old woman expresses her pity, then also leaves for Mass. Turiddu arrives in the piazza. When Santuzza confronts him about his affair with Lola, he denies her accusations. Just then Lola passes by on her way to church. She mocks Santuzza, and Turiddu turns to follow her. Santuzza begs him to stay and implores him not to abandon her. Refusing to listen, Turiddu leaves, and Santuzza curses him. Alfio appears, late for Mass. Santuzza tells him that Lola went to church with Turiddu and reveals that she has been cheating on him. In a rage, Alfio swears to get even and rushes off, leaving behind the now conscience-stricken Santuzza.
Returning from the church the villagers gather at Mamma Lucia’s tavern. Turiddu leads them in a drinking song, but the atmosphere becomes tense when Alfio appears. He refuses Turiddu’s offer of wine and instead challenges him to a knife fight. Turiddu admits his guilt but is determined to go through with the fight, for Santuzza’s sake as well as for his honor. The two men agree to meet outside the village. Alone with his mother, Turiddu begs her to take care of Santuzza if he doesn’t come back, then runs off to the fight. As Mamma Lucia waits anxiously, shouts are heard in the distance. A woman runs in screaming that Turiddu has been killed.
There are no upcoming slots available for this event.


Agatha Christie's Go Back for Murder
This listing is from a previous year. Search for current listings.
- Written by: Agatha Christie
- Website: www.agathachristie.com
Agatha Christie Theatre Company present the Queen of Mystery's classic thriller, packed with red herrings and suspense until the very end.
Now in its eighth thrilling year, the Agatha Christie Theatre Company presents a production of the queen of crime’s classic Go Back For Murder.
Carla Le Marchant learns a disturbing family secret; her mother, Caroline Crale, died in prison after being convicted for poisoning her father.
Caroline leaves an intriguing legacy in the form of a letter professing her innocence and, believing this to be true, Carla is determined to clear her mother’s name.
Enlisting the help of Justin Fogg; the son of her mother’s defence lawyer, Carla searches out all the players from her tragic history and brings them back to the scene of the crime to uncover the truth.
Suspects, secrets, and red herrings abound in this thrilling new production of Go Back for Murder which follows the hugely successful; The Hollow, The Unexpected Guest, And Then There Were None, Spider’s Web, Witness For The Prosecution, Verdict, and Murder on the Nile. A classic ‘Whodunit’ packed with intrigue, murder and suspense from the pen of the great Dame Agatha.
Text supplied by third party.
We have no details of upcoming performances, if you do please let us know.


When the atheistic ranting of Irish-American author James Mulcahy upsets the inhabitants of the Irish village to which he has retired, a mob threatens him. But moments after he has dared ... See full summary »
At the height of his fame (his plays being much celebrated in London in the 1890's), Oscar Wilde angers the Lord Queensbury by having what is whispered and gossiped as a romantic ... See full summary »
In this 1953 musical remake of "The Awful Truth" Wyman is married to womanizing composer Milland and sets out to give him some of his own medicine. She has an affair, but her ploy backfires... See full summary »
The conflict between duty and conscience is explored in this WWII drama. Alan Ladd stars as Naval gunnery officer Alec Austin, a Quaker whose sincere pacifist sentiments do not sit well ... See full summary »
In 1950s London racial hostility to Commonweath immigrants is openly paraded. A pregnant girl, initially assumed to be white, is murdered. As two detectives start to investigate, and ... See full summary »
When the atheistic ranting of Irish-American author James Mulcahy upsets the inhabitants of the Irish village to which he has retired, a mob threatens him. But moments after he has dared God to strike him dead, a stranger appears and does so. The man, dubbed "Johnny Nobody" by the press, claims no knowledge of Mulcahy or even of himself. He asks the help of the village priest, Father Carey, in his upcoming trial for Mulcahy's murder. While the amnesiac Johnny goes to trial, Father Carey mulls questions of belief raised by the case. And then, the good father learns a little more about Johnny Nobody... Written by
Jim Beaver <email@example.com>
This is another entry into film-noir of the 1950's.
William Bendix gives another brilliant performance as a blasphemer. Aldo Ray performs in a strange and unique role. The conclusion of the film may not come close to Dietrich-Laughton in "Witness for the Prosecution", but one could see a comparison with the original "Bad Seed"
13 of 16 people found this review helpful.
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Konstantine (Kote) Surmava
He was born on January 24, 1927, in Tbilisi. In 1952 he graduated from the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University, Faculty of Theatre Directing.
From 1952 until 1960 he worked in the Youth Georgian Theatre and, between 1960 and 1968, in the Griboyedov Theatre. Between 1968 and 1979 he was an artistic director of the Youth Russian Theatre and, from 1970 to 1974, the Griboyedov Theatre. In 1975, together with Mikhail Tumanishvili, he founded the Film Actors Theatre. He has been working in cinema since 1962.
2002 – Order of Honour;
1967 – Honoured Art Worker of Georgia.


"Night of the Living McFizzles" is the eleventh episode of the first season of Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja. It is the second part of a two-part Halloween special, and it premiered on October 15, 2012.
Zombies appear in town on Halloween night.
After riding a haunted house ride with Theresa and Debbie Kang, Randy tries to hide the fact that he was scared on it to avoid being humiliated. Howard is mad, and tries to reveal that he was scared, but with no luck.
Meanwhile, at McFist's house, McFist's attacked by a zombie, and then scared by Viceroy. Viceroy then explain that because of the combination of McFist's top secret weapons factory with the public candy factory, the newest and most popular candy, McFizzles, have been weaponized, turning anyone who eats them into zombies who crave candy.
Faced with the zombie plague, McFist resolves to let Viceroy destroy Norrisville with a doomsday device, and though he changes his mind after realizing Marci would be obliterated, breaks the machine and is unable to stop it.
Randy is able to figure out a disgusting solution to the zombie plague, while Viceroy convinces McFist to turn the still-armed doomsday weapon on the McFizzles factory, sending a rain of the treats over Norrisville...a rain which Howard promptly starts to eat the McFizzles and turns back into a zombie again and Randy is started to scared of horror.
- The title is based off the 1968's horror film Night of the Living Dead.
- This episode takes place after, the event of the previous episode, "Dawn of the Driscoll".
- The episode makes a reference to the Nightmare on Elm Street movie, having a street named Elm Street.
- This is the first episode that the NinjaNomicon did not give any lessons and make an appearance
- Besides Randy's half-a-cow and Howard's Viceroy costume, many other characters show up in costume as well:
- Debbie Kang wears a costume based on the Mexican Death Bear.
- Theresa's costume is Stevens, sunglasses and trombone included.
- McFist appears as a Pirate (with his arm-brain dressed as a lobster) and Marci as a vixen.
- Glenn dresses as a vampire.
- Rachel wears a jack-o'-lantern costume.
- One of the zombies is dressed as "The Puncher" from the Grave Puncher franchise.
- The music video Thriller is referenced, as one of the first zombies seen in the group of zombies is wearing a red jacket that looks like Michael Jackson's outfit.
- The corridor scene is a reference to the movie The Shining, as the Blonde Twins are dressed like the Grady girls.
- It is shown for the first time that Theresa has a crush on Randy.
- The Whoopee World haunted house ride has signs reading both "Scary House" and "Haunted Mansion."
- The exterior of the house in which Howard, Theresa, and Randy take shelter is modeled after the Bates home in Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho (1960).
- Both Theresa Fowler and Debbie Kang makes her first speaking appearances.
- Debbie Kang wears a costume based off the Mexican Death Bear.
- Theresa Fowler's costume is Stevens, glasses and trombone included.
- Although "Viva El Nomicon" aired after this episode, this episode is chronologically before it because McFist bought Whoopee World in "Viva El Nomicon", and it's mentioned in this episode that McFist Industries owns Whoopee World.
- Randy shows off two new weapons and one new move in this episode: the "Ninja Tripping Balls," the "Ninja Blocking Wedge," and the "Ninja Puking Poke."
- The episode both starts and ends with a shot of a screaming boy's vibrating uvula, first when Buttermaker is riding the Whoopee World haunted house ride and finally when Randy witnesses Howard's second zombie transmogrification.
- Plus, the corridor scene is a reference to the movie The Shining.
- The doomsday device was the same doomsday device from the previous episode "Dawn of Discroll".
- Howard's trick-or-treat bag is based off of Viceroy's robot Otto.
- This is the first time to take place entirely at night.
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from the Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja Wiki. The list of authors can be seen in the page revision history (view authors). As with Disney Wiki, the text of the Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja Wiki is available under the CC-by-SA Free Documentation License.|


Neil Patrick Harris has been racking up a hell of a lot of cred. He’s done well on How I Met Your Mother and has parlayed the geek crowd’s young memories of his Doogie Howser, M.D. role into a mature fanbase thanks to appearances in Starship Troopers, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, the Harold and Kumar movies and even a star turn hosting the Emmys.
And now he’s going to spend that cred on Smurfs: The Movie?
Deadline Hollywood has the scoop on Harris appearing in the film. He won’t be a Smurf; instead he’ll play the lead live-action character in the live-action CGI hybrid story. The film has reportedly been under development for a few years, and we’ve only recently begun to learn anything about it. But it’s the freakin’ Smurfs. Not really rocket science.
Raja Gosnell (Scooby Doo and Beverly Hills Chihuahua) directs, and the story involves ‘real’ characters like the one played by Harris encountering the society of little blue dudes and one blue dudette.
We saw some of a casting call sheet for the film not long ago, which described two “Major supporting roles,” which presumably suggests that the real major roles are (as you’d expect) the Smurfs. One is a late 20’s/early 30’s first-time expectant mother named Grace who is juggling an overworked husband and a household fill of Smurfs. The second character is Odile, a beautiful, charming (when she wants to be), high-powered executive for a high-end French cosmetics company.
Is it a stretch to think that Neil Patrick Harris might be playing Grace’s husband? And, for the love of all that is good, why am I thinking about it even this much? Again, it’s the freakin’ Smurfs. Three-apple high little mushroom dwellers who fight a wizard named Gargamel. I’m actually sad that Harris is doing this.
Unless he’s playing Gargamel. If we get a singing, dancing, cat-petting Neil Patrick Harris as the evil Smurf-hating wizard of this thing, then all may be forgiven.
Smurfs: The Movie shoots in April.Cool Posts From Around the Web:


Vijay Antony gets onboard for Traffic Ramasamy
Vijay Antony has always shared his strong affinity and gratitude for Vijay and his father SA Chandrasekar. This is mainly due to the fact that he was introduced by SAC through the film ‘Sukran’ as music director. Now he is getting show his gesture of respect for SAC by playing an extended cameo in ‘Traffic Ramasamy’. While SAC will be reprising the role of this highly celebrated social activist, RK Suresh and Upasana would be seen in lead roles. Ambika, Livingston. Rohini and few other prominent actors will be seen in important roles. Vijay Antony will be playing the role of an actor, who rises up often to fight against the social evils. The music director turned actor will shoot his portions from end of this month. Balamurali Bala of Hara Hara Mahadevaki is composing music for this film.


Chennai: Thenninthiyan star Nikki Galrani and actor Aadhi Pinisetty tied nuptial knot on 18th May. The ceremony held in Chennai was a private one, attended only by immediate friends and family.
Nikki,an actress and model debuted into acting career with 2014 Malayalam film “1983” and has been currently busy on sets for “Meri Awas Suno:. After hitting commercial success following Malayalam movie Vellimoonga, Nikki became a much sought after actress in both Malalam and Tamil industry.
Aadhi debuted into Telgu films with 2006 “Oka V Chitram: directed by teja and is shooting for Lingusamy’s “The Warrior” starring Telgu actor Ram Pothineni.


The whole family loves cars. Mater is the best
i like these animated films it had alot of action plus humur and made you feel sad for only a few minutes otherwise i enjoyed
Pixar's weakest offering - up until Cars 2 was released and stole the Worst Pixar Movie crown. Lacking the usual heart of previous or later offerings from the studio, but good for the kids.
My son thoroughly enjoyed this movie.. only downside is the disc had a few scratches and skipped in some places.
This was a fantastic movie, it was very well made and my children loved it
Great kids movie. My son just loved it.
It would have gotten 5 stars, but Pixar are using the same formulae for every movie. It'd be nice to have something different.
I thought this was thoroughly entertaining. While it isn't the best Disney/Pixar creation. It certainly is a good watch. Extremely good graphics as you would come to expect from Pixar and a very cute story to go with it.
Its taken me 3 years to watch this and im glad i did, i wouldn't watch it again though.
I gave it 3/5. A good watch.
Rubbish film. What has happened to Pixar? I loved movies like Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo as the writing was really sharp and funny...something that must be hard to acheive in a family movie. I was hoping for something similar in Cars but was sadly dissapointed. Sickly sweet story line, lame writing...very hard to watch. The only redeeming feature was the beautiful animation.
My boys loved this one. One of the best Pixar movies.
This was good and if you are racing cars this would good for anybody of any any
a learning to be less self centered more thoughtful message with fun characters, who are not all they seem
Kids loved it, great family movie
My Son loves it, but I love it even more!! And I happily make an excuse to sit and watch it with him everytime. You got to see it...thank you Pixar!!
it was full of funny bits that kept the family laughing
The very entertaining bit of school holiday fare is remarkable for two things. One is how it manages to provide human characteristics to the cars while still managing to make them look like cars and two, in that it packs quite a sophisticated message i.e. that good things are often lost in the name of progress. It has some very funny moments, notably the scenes involving the cow-like tractors and the Ferrari-loving tyre sales man/car. In a quick poll of kids in our little group, this movie seem to be score more highly with boys than girls, perhaps not surprising.
Great story, thought the tractor tipping was hilarious!
The visuals and sound track were excellent. Is a great movie for all the family.
Very, very entertaining. Superb animation.
Probably my favourite of my kids animated movies. This movie is very funny and appeals to both boys, girls and adults. It teaches lessons to both kids and adults. Lots of laughs!!
Super movie for both children and adults. Another gem from Pixar.
A top film for the kids and enjoyable for the adults as well. Amazing animation, but I suppose we expect that nowadays. It is fun to watch with an underlying lesson for the kids.
You forget that you are watching cartoon cars and become involved with the charactors. Kids will love it.
Good clean old style family movie... great for youngsters
Fantastic entertainment - my grandaughter loved it - watched it three times. She nows has a Speed McQueen toy car. Great sound track and super animation.
not as charming as Pixars previous offerings but it gets a tick for effort
This movie will go down in history. It has a moving story and sensational sound track. A must see for everyone.
Worth watching if you like that sort of thing. Too much nastiness. One good comment at the end - 'There is more to racing than winning'.
Great family film, something for everyone
Kept both my 2 year old son and husband entertained. Lots for both adults and kids to enjoy
A great movie that the kids will love.
Kids loved the movie...Owen Wilson great voice...had 5 kids under 8 all quiet for whole movie....priceless
Brilliant movie for children and adults alike! Don't miss it.
Great movie, not just for the kids. Great animation and story, must see for all
We all loved this movie - our son, 2.5yrs, loved it and had to watch at least every day while we had it - might be one we buy! I especially liked the idea that the whole world was vehicles, even the flies! I also liked the use of the same voices as other Pixar movies, it's a bit like "pick the character in the other movies" (eg: Mac/Pig/Flea/Snowman - hee hee) Owen Wilson was good as Lightning, a good match up with character to actor.
I loved this movie. I love the graphics and the story was great. A kids movie yes, but adults enjoy the same if not more. I could watch this movie over and over. Sensational!
kids enjoyed it - I found it pretty boring
I could not stop smiling throughout the whole movie! Very charming film with great visuals. Somewhat disappointing extra features on the dvd though.
Pixar's winning streak continues
For a kids movie it is not to be missed if you are between 0 and 110 years of age
Fabulous! The detail in this was fantastic.
This is a classic for the kids. Teaches them that you don't have to win to be a winner.
Complete enjoyable, Pixar always come out with something good.
I simply loved this film because it made me appreciate and feel so happy for in which how the story unfolded and developed into a great atmosphere within the characters. Brilliant characterisation and great ideas put into the unique personalites was very entertaining. The story does not turn out how you would expect it at all. This was just about an almost perfect film in which how could you make a better film regarding a world of cars? The lesson you get out of this film is not all about caring about yourself, but being selfless which would then earn you the most positive glory. If you dont appreciate this film then you dont have a sense of understanding the goodness out of films like this
A very enjoyable family movie good for all ages.
Whole family loved film, if you like fast cars, a love story and comedy this is a great film.
Fantastic DVD, great for kids and adults alike. I really enjoyed it, it was heaps better than I expected! Good story, quite meaningful and there was excellent graphics and attention to detail. Very funny and definitely worth seeing!
Great movie and a must for all rev-heads!
Possibly the least of all Pixar films, but that still means this film is better than 99% of all other films, and certainly better than any other animated film by Disney or Dreamworks.
Best Pixar movie yet. Everybody must see this movie.


Nazi Zombies have been really popular ever since they were featured in Call of Duty World at War. So it isn’t a huge surprise that other gaming franchises/movie makers took the idea of Nazi Zombies to make their own thing. Most of the movies about Nazi Zombies are rubbish and only a few are actually worth your time (both Dead Snow movies are pretty good). Guess in which category ‘Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead’ belongs? Little hint: Uwe Boll is the producer of this movie.
The story is as basic as it gets: a bunch of American soldiers need to fight of a horde of Nazi zombies (worst thing; they are not even Nazi’s. They are concentration camp prisoners that they turned into Zombies). That’s pretty much it; not really Oscar material. The dialogue in the movie has no consistency and is only enjoyable if you like hearing bad actors mumble some poorly written lines about the war. The special effects are horrible (not in a ‘OMG IT LOOKS SCARY’ way) and the ending of the movie is a total mess (probably because they want to release a third one).
Conclusion: This movie isn’t worth your time or your money. It’s poorly written and the actors have no idea what the word ‘acting’ actually means. Avoid this movie at all cost.


Once on this Island is a musical love story set in the beautiful Caribbean Islands. Based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy and the classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid, Once on this Island tells the story of Ti Moune, a poor peasant girl who falls in love with an upper-class gentleman named Daniel. The island gods of Love, Earth, Water, and Death try to manipulate the young lovers on a fateful journey that tests the strength of their love. The production features a contemporary, calypso-flavored score by the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime). An imaginative story for all ages, Once on This Island received eight Tony Award Nominations in 1991, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.


Cast – Amitabh Bachchan, Emraan Hashmi, Rhea Chakraborty, Annu Kapoor, Crystal D’Souza
indicating – Rumi Jafri
Where to see – In theaters
rating – 2.5
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan (Amitabh Bachchan) Fans were waiting to see in theaters. Now their wait is over. With the opening of theatres, films have started releasing and today Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi (Emraan Hashmi) The movie faces (Chehre) Has also been released in theaters. The courtroom drama film is directed by Rumi Jafri. He has come up with a thriller-mystery film with Amitabh Bachchan so let’s tell you how Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi’s film Face.
Riya Chakraborty with Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi in the face, Crystal D’Souza, Annu Kapoor, Many actors including Siddhant Kapoor and Dhritiman Chatterjee are seen playing pivotal roles.
Yeh Hai Kahaani
The film is quite different from what the trailer of the face was. The story of this film begins with retired judge Jagdish Acharya living in a house surrounded by mountains. Who often decorate mahfil sings together with their friends. His friends are retired criminal lawyer Latif Zaidi (Amitabh Bachchan), Retired Defence Lawyer Paramjit Singh Bhullar (Annu Kapoor). All these elderly people play a game together. In which he fights a case like a court. More importantly, they punish Muljim along with pronouncing the verdict. This time they become muljims Emraan Hashmi. Emraan Hashmi is the CEO of an ad company that gets stuck there due to the storm and comes to him for a while.
Amitabh Bachchan plays these games with Emraan Hashmi along with his friends. Even before the game begins, Amitabh tells us that there is no justice in our courts. But Anjan Imran doesn’t take the game so seriously from punishment. You have to watch the film to see what happens next with Emraan Hashmi who plays this game as a timepass.
Tv actress Crystal D’Souza has made her Bollywood debut with this film. Speaking of acting, Crystal has managed to win everyone’s heart with her beauty. Amitabh Bachchan, Emraan Hashmi, and Annu Kapoor’s acting are also brilliant. Riya Chakraborty is also seen in the film but her character is not shown properly.
Despite having a great cast in the film, the film has failed to keep the audience hooked. Because of the weakening of the story, the interest of the audience gradually begins to diminish and the film starts to look longer. The story could have been improved by making it a little stronger and reducing timing.
If you like watching a courtroom drama starring Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi together, you can go to see this film.
Why not see
The film is very different from the trailer. Only after some time can you feel bored. This film could have been wrapped up in a short time. If you don’t like thriller-mystery movies, you can leave it.


Koby, a senior at Williamsville South High School, is thrilled to be cast as Baby John in his first professional show. Koby has performed in several school musicals such as MARY POPPINS, A CHORUS LINE, ONCE UPON A MATTRESS and GREASE, and school dramatic plays such as MUSEUM and CLUE. He has also appeared in film with a supporting role in GAME CHANGERS THE MOVIE and an extra in EMILIE. Koby would like to thank his parents, family and friends for their support because it means so much to him to see them all in the audience at every performance. He would also like to thank his musical theatre directors, Bobby Cooke and Paschal Frisina, for always encouraging him and helping him to grow his talent, and WEST SIDE STORY director, Chris Kelly, for this amazing opportunity.


Scarface is a 1983 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is a remake of the 1932 film and tells the story of Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Al Pacino) who arrives in 1980s Miami with nothing and rises to become a powerful drug lord. The cast also features Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Robert Loggia.
In 1980, Cuban refugee and ex-convict Tony Montana arrives in Miami, Florida, as part of the Mariel boatlift, where he is sent to a refugee camp with friends Manny Ray, Angel, and Chi Chi. The four are released and given green cards in exchange for murdering a former Cuban general at the request of Miami drug lord Frank Lopez. They become dishwashers at an eatery, but a dissatisfied Tony proclaims that he is meant for bigger things.
|author||Ben Hecht Howard Hawks Oliver Stone|
|contentLocation||Bolivia Florida Mariel Miami metropolitan area New York City|
|director||Brian De Palma|
|editor||David Ray Jerry Greenberg|
|events||cocaine drug lord grandiose delusions illegal drug trade Mariel boatlift organized crime Rags to riches|
|keywords||alejandro sosa cochabamba cochabamba bolivia colombia crooked cop cuba elvira elvira hancock federal agent green card green cards grenade launcher kill life of crime married meet police informant police protection prison sentence refugee camp shoot tax evasion tony montana trophy wife united states permanent resident card warn wife and child|
|nomination||Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director|
|recordedAt||Florida Los Angeles Miami New York City Santa Barbara|


Bad dating video dating turkmenistan or
Mike and Marcus inadvertently stumble into the action, and an intense firefight and car chase ensues, devastating the local area and enraging Police Captain Conrad Howard.Marcus and Mike discover Syd's involvement, and Capt. Marcus and Mike confront the Haitian gang, killing several, and learn from the leader that a local mortuary is possibly being used by Tapia as a front for money laundering.Syd, unbeknownst to both Mike and Marcus, is an undercover operative with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), laundering money for Russian gangsters, who distribute ecstasy on behalf of Cuban drug lord Johnny Tapia.While transporting money between the Russians and Tapia, Syd is attacked by a Haitian gang trying to steal the money.Marcus questions if he wants to remain partners with Mike.Meanwhile, Mike is concealing a relationship with Marcus' sister, Syd.
Bad Boys II was nominated at the 2nd Annual Visual Effects Society Awards (VES) for "Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture"." On an episode of At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, film critic Richard Roeper named Bad Boys II the worst film of 2003.James Berardinelli of Reel Views was even more negative about the film, rating it half a star out of four and stating: "Bad Boys II isn't just bad - it's a catastrophic violation of every aspect of cinema that I as a film critic hold dear." Among the more positive reviews was Seattle Post-Intelligencer critic Ellen A.The film received negative reviews for its excessive and graphic violence, long running time, misogynistic depiction of women, and bloated plot.On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 23% approval rating, based on 177 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10.


South Korea’s “National Treasure” Lee Ji Eun, more commonly known by the stage name IU, made her debut at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. The multi-hyphenate graced the event with fellow actors Lee Joo-young, Song Kang-ho, and Kang Dong Won as part of the cast of Broker (2021). IU, who stars in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Korean language film, took the festival by storm with both her impressive acting and fashion prowess.
On May 26, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s film, Broker, premiered at the Grand Théâtre Lumière in Cannes. Broker is Kore-eda’s first Korean language movie and was inspired by the director’s interest in social topics such as baby hatch and adoption. The plot of the film focuses on ‘baby boxes,’ drop-off sites where people can leave their babies for others to take care of them. IU took on her first high-profile screen role with Broker, playing So-young, a mother who drops her infant off at one of these ‘baby boxes’ but later changes her mind. The storyline unravels after she returns to find that her baby is missing.
IU’s Stunning Red Carpet Look
For her debut at one of the biggest European film festivals, IU chose to highlight South Korean brands and designers. Not a stranger to the glitz and glamour of red carpets, the superstar stunned in a gray dress by Choi Jae Hoon for the premiere of Broker. The singer and actress wore a look straight from the Korean designer’s latest collection and paired the chiffon gown with a silver jewelry set from Chaumet’s Joséphine Aigrette collection. IU’s regal montée des marches received plenty of media attention and earned her a spot among the best-dressed stars of the festival.
Effortless Beauty at the Press Junket
Prior to the red carpet, IU attended a Broker press junket in a casual look, appropriate for the weather of the French Riviera. Wearing a cut-out off-the-shoulder blouse from The Ballon and jewelry from J.ESTINA, the singer showed her feminine, soft charm. The actress later showed off the full look on a live stream hosted by South Korean personality JaeJae, on MMTG’s YouTube channel.
Clean Chic for the Photocall
Following the film’s red carpet, the Broker cast attended Cannes’ official photocall event. IU kept her look simple and classy, with a pleated lapel jacket from JAYBAEK COUTURE and matching white pumps. The star finished her look with subtle bling from luxury jewelry brand Chaumet.
Shining Bright at the Closing Ceremony
Finally, on May 28, IU attended the festival’s closing ceremony in her first Gucci look at Cannes. The luxury brand’s ambassador wore a sheer green gown with metallic detailing, bringing a hint of summer to the red carpet and maybe even a nod to her fandom’s official color (lime green).
IU’s Impressive Performance
Just like his previous films, Kore-eda’s Broker was received favorably among the critics. “The writing and the performances are so sincere and understated that scenes which would be unbearably twee in some filmmakers’ hands are heart-rending in Kore-Eda’s,” wrote Nicholas Barber, for BBC. The positive reviews mirrored the 12-minute standing ovation and the Ecumenical Jury Award for Best Film that Broker received. In addition to the moving storyline, critics applauded the star-studded cast that included some of the biggest names in South Korea.
Among lauded actors such as Bae Doona and Song Kang-ho — who took home the Award for Best Actor — IU stood out for her “layered performance,” her first in a film of this kind. “It is K-pop singer-turned-actor Lee Ji-eun who leads the ensemble down its path of brilliance as she performs her heart out, she is the soul of the film,” highlighted Ben Rolph from AwardsWatch.
IU had previously commented that “[Broker is] a film that quietly depicts people with different values who have lived not-so-beautiful lives, meeting and slowly coming to understand each other. People may take away diverse impressions of this film, but that is a big part of its meaning.” Director Hirokazu Kore-eda reportedly decided to cast IU after watching her work in My Mister (2018). The filmmaker commended her for “nuanced acting” and refined style. “It was amazing the way she maintained such restrained acting throughout the entire length of the TV drama,” he said.
Slated for release on June 8, Broker was part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection and competed for the Palme d’Or.
Curious about IU’s acting career? Learn more about the K-pop star’s journey from Stage to Screen here.


Did You Know?
In the beginning of the movie when Gibb brings the sunglasses with camera in the pack of cigarettes, there are 3 scenes in which we see the camera and sunglasses being used, at Harry's house, on the way into the mall and in the mall restroom. At Harry's house and on the way to the mall, he has the cigarette pack with the opening and camera on the bottom and the image appears in the sunglasses correctly. But in the restroom shot, Harry positions the pack of smokes with the opening and camera on top (i.e. rotated 180 degrees) but the image he sees of the men coming into the restroom isn't upside down. See more


|Lord Cranleigh, The Doctor and Nyssa mourn George.|
There's a show that I mentioned during the Summer called Jeeves and Wooster, a wonderful period drama-comedy based on the works of P.G. Wodehouse and set in the Edwardian era. Its running time, funnily enough, is fifty minutes long. Today's serial was an experiment by JNT, shortening the length of the serial and returning to a type of story not seen for 15 years and never seen again afterwards. Black Orchid is a rare example in Doctor Who of a story known as the Pure Historical, a story without any aliens or science-fiction influences besides the TARDIS and crew.
This story gets a lot of derision from the Who community because of this format, which leads many to accuse the story of being boring. Poppycock, I say. Black Orchid is a visual and audible delight, bolstered by brilliant acting the BBC's absolute love of period drama. I often wish that we could have a modern-day Historical story, just to mix things up - the last time anyone came close was the pseudo-Historical "The Unicorn and the Wasp," which then ruined it all with a massive alien bumblebee.
The Doctor and crew, having come from the events in London, arrive in 1920s rural England. Despite The Doctor's irritance that the TARDIS brought them to England once again, they head off from their train-station landing site and run into a cricket game hosted by one Lord Cranleigh. The Doctor, already wearing cricket whites, is a natural. They further travel to Lord Cranleigh's estate, where they are invited to their annual fancy-dress ball. Lord Cranleigh's fiancé, Ann, is a dead-ringer for Nyssa and they have fun at the fancy-dress party by wearing identical costumes.
Meanwhile, The Doctor has happened upon a passage where he finds a corpse in a cupboard. After a strange figure uses The Doctor's costume to commit a murder, the gang find themselves framed. Luckily, The Doctor shows the Constable his TARDIS, and as they travel back to the Estate the lord reveals, reluctantly, the secret that he has been hiding - his disfigured brother, George, who committed the murders and whom was set to mary Ann before his accident. George is accidentally killed, and on a bittersweet note the foursome leave, with a copy of George's book on the Black Orchid.
|The Doctor proves his innocence.|
There's not a lot to say about Black Orchid, but it's not the horror that the fandom so often portrays it as. It's light and fluffy, but it's the enjoyable kind of fluff and it's a light 50 minute break in what is otherwise a rather busy season. The BBC is brilliant at period drama and even though it's not a genre that I particularly enjoy, Black Orchid is a pleasant detour from Doctor Who's norm.
NEXT TIME: We revisit a certain Cyberman story that saw the end for the series' biggest annoyance... meet me next week, for Earthshock Revisited.
P.S. The weather continuity is terrible.


From 10.00 p.m., Mondays, 26 October – 7 December 2020
Two heavyweight and popular actors Toyama Eiji, who once dominated the rankings for three consecutive years as the man that women want to marry, and Ozono Hitomi, who tops the rankings as the actress that people want as their boss, are set to be the leads for a major drama series titled Love You to Death by TV Toyo, a small television station. However, it has been an open secret that the two of them will not act together ever since they broke up 25 years ago because Eiji two-timed Hitomi. There is great public interest in their rare joint appearance and it is a remarkable coup for TV Toyo. However, on the day of the press conference for the drama, the hotel venue is packed with many members of the media who are waiting impatiently for their arrival. On the way to the hotel, Eiji starts to express reservations about acting together with Hitomi. Mark Nemoto, who is the CEO of the agency that Eiji belongs to, hurriedly soothes him. Meanwhile, Hitomi begins to complain that Eiji’s name appears before hers in the credits. Furukawa Shori, who is the CEO of the agency that Hitomi belongs to, tries to calm her down but she will not stop disparaging him. In the end, both of them say that they do not want to enter the venue before the other party. The head of TV Toyo’s Drama Department Tozawa Kanji, producer Koreeda Ikuo and assistant producer Kusunoki Miwa are waiting for the two leads. However, neither Eiji nor Hitomi show up at the appointed time and they start to get anxious. The Eiji and Hitomi they hold against each other is deep-seated and their battle has already begun before they meet again. What kind of reunion will they have? Furthermore, Ichihara Ryu, the drama’s showrunner and scriptwriter who made this dangerous pairing come true, has a scheme … …
Nakai Kiichi as Toyama Eiji
He rose to stardom in his mid-20s and gained popularity. The hit drama “Deeper Than Love” where he played the lead character, firmly established his position. After that, his passionate romance with his co-star Ozono Hitomi, who played the heroine, became a hot topic. However, he was soon discovered to be two-timing her and they split up. He was deprived of acting roles by the industry for the next three years because Hitomi held a press conference about the end of their relationship.
Suzuki Kyoka as Ozono Hitomi
She set up an agency called Office Friends together with the current CEO Furukawa Shiori, who used to be a student in the same theatrical company and was charmed by her talent. She received the newcomer award for movies at a young age. She steadily made progress with her image as a naive but strong woman, and she solidified her popularity with the big hit drama Deeper Than Love. She met Toyama Eiji through the drama, and they were madly in love but later broke up. She continues to top the rankings as the female actress that people want as their boss.
Yamaguchi Sayaka as Toyama Yukina
Toyama Eiji’s wife. A former idol. She met him through a drama that that they co-starred in 25 years ago. She initially considered him a good senior whom she could ask for all sorts of advice, but their relationship deepened as a result of some incident … …
Nekoze Tsubaki as Furukawa Shiori
The CEO of Office Friends, the agency that Ozono Hitomi belongs to. She used to be part of a small theatrical company and was active as an actress together with Ozono Hitomi. However, she fell in love with Hitomi’s talent and the two of them set up an entertainment agency. She is a partner in Hitomi’s personal and professional life.
Saito Takumi as Ichihara Ryu
The scriptwriter of Love You to Death who pays attention to the planning, casting and even the publicity. He shot to popularity after his drama on a streaming service became a big hit and is now a darling of the industry for being a hit maker with a variety of projects.
Lily Franky as Mark Nemoto
The CEO of Mark Planning, the agency that Toyama Eiji belongs to. He used to be a musician, but never gained much popularity. He set up an entertainment agency and switched to become a businessman. His encounter with Eiji changed his life. Since then, they have shared the same purpose.
Satomi Kotaro as Dejima Tetsutaro
A star of period dramas, he has been active from the Showa to Heisei period and is an undisputed great actor. In Love You to Death, he plays the role of Tanaka Shusaku, the father-in-law to Ozono Hitomi’s character Tanaka Hiroko. Even a veteran like him has a nemesis – Komatsu Shingo, an actor that he will not act with …
Horibe Keisuke as Komatsu Shingo
A unique actor who has returned from New York. He used to be Dejima Tetsutaro’s assistant but he left Dejima to go to the US after he could no longer tolerate his opinions on performers and his acting technique. He came back to Japan several years ago and has distinguished himself as a supporting actor.
One Hitoshi (Hello Harinezumi, River’s Edge Okawabata Tanteisha, Moteki Series)
Higuchi Takuji (Manatsu no Shonen, Boku no Tsuma to Kekkon Shite Kudasai)
Anata o Motometa dake nano ni by Novelbright


So I moseyed on over to the Warner Archive site yesterday to cross Above Suspicion (1943) and Convicts 4 (1962) off my Wish List…
This proved to be a big mistake…because like the prototypical femme fatale who lures the hero to his doom in any respectable film noir, I answered the siren song of the Archive’s 30% off Select Film Noir Classics sale like the prize chump I am. Here’s what ended up in my cart:
The Man I Love (1947) – Okay, say it with me now: “If Ida Lupino is ‘the poor man’s Bette Davis’—thank heavens I’m a poor man!” This is one of my favorite Ida films; she plays a nightclub chanteuse (“She wouldn’t give you the time of day if she had two watches.”) who gets a job at a jernt run by gangster Robert Alda (no offense to Alda fans—but how did this guy get to be such a player in films back then?) and spurns his amorous advances in order to make time with ex-jazz pianist Herman Brix…er, I mean, Bruce Bennett. What I like about this picture is that Lupino transcends the usual torch singing stereotype by playing a woman struggling to keep things together with her sisters, brother and next-door neighbor—she’s a bluesy Donna Reed, with a slinkier wardrobe. Film buffs know that Man was the inspiration for Martin Scorsese’s much-discussed (is it brilliant or a clinker?) New York, New York (1977).
Split Second (1953) – The very first time I saw this guilty pleasure was on the USA Network—long before they surrendered their schedule to endless NCIS and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit reruns. Directed by Dick “Richard Diamond” Powell, Second’s a nail-biting suspenser about a trio of convicts (Stephen McNally, Paul Kelly and Frank “Chief Wild Eagle” DeKova) who hold a group of individuals hostage in a “ghost” town—oblivious to the fact that the town is scheduled as the site for an A-bomb testing. The hostages include reporter Keith Andes, nightclub chanteuse (and TDOY fave) Jan Sterling and bitchy socialite Alexis Smith—Smith is accompanied by her boy toy Robert Paige and is later joined by her cuckolded doctor hubby, Richard Egan. (Arthur Hunnicutt also stumbles onto the assembled crowd, playing—oh, what a range he had!—a grizzled old desert rat.) This is perfect non-think entertainment, with goofy dialogue (“Well, Colonel, when you’ve seen one atom bomb, you’ve seen them all.”) and a memorable finale. (And soon it will be mine…all mine!)
The Tall Target (1951) – Dick Powell takes his rightful place in front of the camera in this underrated Anthony Mann thriller based on a true story. Powell plays John Kennedy(!), a New York detective who’s hip to an assassination plot involving President Abraham Lincoln—and boards a train that Lincoln is traveling on when his superiors refuse to believe his info. He tries to get word to the proper authorities—and runs into the predictable problem of who can be trusted…and who can’t? I’m afraid my brief description can’t do justice to this wonderful little sleeper (John DiLeo has a smashing essay on the film in his book Screen Savers: 40 Remarkable Movies Awaiting Rediscovery) and though I had originally planned to wait until TCM showed this again to secure a copy (well, that was pretty much the case with all the movies I purchased) I finally decided that this movie (with the discounted price of $13.96) was too good to pass up. I love the supporting cast in this one: Paula Raymond as Powell’s love interest, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall “Daktari” Thompson, Leif Erickson, Will Geer, Richard Rober, Florence Bates and a young Ruby Dee—plus bits contributed by Barbara Billingsley, Ken Christy, Robert Easton, Jonathan “Mr. Dithers” Hale, TDOY’s favorite silver screen weasel Percy Helton, Regis Toomey and Will Wright.


SAYS DE PALMA WASN'T ORIGINALLY KEEN ON COMPOSER'S UNION STATION MUSIC
Ennio Morricone recently talked to the New York Times' Robert Itomarch about several of his best-known film scores, including The Untouchables:
THE UNTOUCHABLES, directed by Brian De Palma (1987). The composer said he enjoyed Mr. De Niro’s "dramatically comic” take on Al Capone in this factually squishy retelling of that mobster’s takedown by Eliot Ness. In the film, Capone takes a baseball bat to the noggin of an employee who doesn’t put team first, and scenes like that didn’t put off Mr. Morricone. “He killed people in a very spectacular way,” he said.
Mr. De Palma had already finished the film when he showed a cut to Mr. Morricone, asking him specifically to come up with something for the “triumph of the police” at the end. The two got on well, but the director originally wasn’t keen on the music Mr. Morricone created for one of the film’s best-known scenes, a two-minute sequence in which a baby carriage, complete with a sweet-faced child, rolls down the steps of Union Station in Chicago in the middle of a heated gun battle.
“He didn’t want that music,” Mr. Morricone recalled. “Later he gave an interview and said that he thought that the music for that scene was perfect, so he must have rethought the whole idea.”


What an amazing week!
Epsom Light Opera's production of Calamity Jane was a real success enjoyed by everyone. Listening to audience members singing the songs while queuing to pay for the car park was definitley entertaining!
We have updated our Past Shows area of the website with lots of photos and videos of the production so please do have a look.
A big thank-you must go out to all those involved with the show, the production team, the cast and the crew, you are all amazing!


Savchenko, Mykhailo [Савченко, Михайло; Savčenko, Myxajlo], b 6 June 1914 in Hlobyne, Kremenchuk county, Poltava gubernia, d 12 August 1982. Playwright and actor. He graduated from the Kharkiv Music and Drama Institute (1938). He performed at the Kharkiv Ukrainian Drama Theater (1938–41) and the Kyiv Ukrainian Drama Theater (1945–9) and was director of the republican Building of Litterateurs. His first play, Pravo na shchastia (The Right to Happiness), was published in 1957. He published several collections of plays, Rozplata za dovir’ia (Payment for Trust, 1959), Shliakhy do shchastia (Roads to Happiness, 1962), P’iesy (Plays, 1967), Travnevi hrozy (May Storms, 1973), and Hippokraty (Hippocrateses, 1983). Published separately were his plays Lastivka (The Swallow, 1961), Prohnozy (Prognoses, 1962), Syny Hippokrata (Hippocrates’ Sons, 1962), Chest' (Honor, 1963), Mii syn (My Son, 1969), and Proshu vstaty! (Please Rise!, 1971).
[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]
This subject is not referenced in any other entries in the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine.