It is the Life of JEANNE DU BARRY

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from writer/director Maiwenn and Vertical is the story of a woman in a country of few choices when your JEANNE DU BARRY.

Jeanne (Maiwenn) is a young woman in 1700’s France who is the daughter of a house maid. Taken in by a Roch-Claude Billard (Robin Renucci), she is taught to read and think for herself. Getting away from those who would tell her what to do and how to behave, Jeanne finds herself as a courtesan under Guillaume du Barry (Melvil Poupaud). It is Louis Francois, the Duke of Richelieu (Pierre Richard) who pushes to introduce Jeanne to King Louis XV (Johnny Depp).

In a planned meeting at Versailles, King Louis sees Jeanne and is intrigued by her presence. Jeanne is then visited by Jean-Benjamin de La Borde (Benjamin Lavernhe) who informs her that she is going to meet the King and what the rules are in his presence. Jeanne and the King meet and there is an instant spark between them as she quickly becomes the King’s favorite, much to the dismay of his daughters Adelaide (India Hair), Victoire (Suzanne de Baecque), Sophie (Laura Le Velly) and Louise (Capucine Valmary).

The only person that seems to be happy for the King is the Dauphin (Diego Le Fur) who sees the mistreatment by the court toward Jeanne. Adelaide decides to spread her dislike through to the Dauphin’s intended Marie Antoinette (Pauline Pollmann). The King begins to see what is happening to Jeanne and lavishes her with a place where they can be away from the court and the young Zamor (Djibril Djimo).

Being watched over by La Borde, Jeanne is still fighting for survival in a place that doesn’t see her as anything more than a nuisance during a time when the people of France are starting to resent those in power. As the King falls ill, Jeanne tries to be of comfort but her life is about to come full circle.

Maiwenn as Jeanne comes across for so many reasons. she is just so lovely without adding anything to her appearance which charmed me all the more. Allowing her performance to shine, she made it look so effortless. Jeanne is a woman of her times doing what it takes to survive in a world that doesn’t see her. Instead, as a grown woman, Maiwenn makes it clear that she may have to give and take in the matter of her survival but don’t try and take control away from her. Once in the company of the King, Maiwenn gives Jeanne charm, grace, and never once changes because it is just not who she is. The relationship between Jeanne and the King becomes one that is always in flux – until it isn’t.

Depp as the King seems to have no time for the goings on around him, at least that’s what his facial expressions seem to show. Meeting Jeanne is a breath of fresh air and a chance to be equally as charming if not entertaining. As much as the King’s family want Jeanne gone, the King knows what he wants and Jeanne brings it naturally. Depp is truly fascinating to watch as his role is more watchful than a lot of royal talk. I must admit I was moved by his portrayal in many scenes but truly expected nothing more than his best and not disappointed in the slightest. Yes, he does speak French but then again, he did in his film THE NINTH GATE as well.

Lavernhe as La Borde is emotional, funny even if he doesn’t mean to be and a true friend to the King. Watching him attempt to train Jeanne to court life I knew wasn’t going to be easy but Lavernhe’s portrayal of La Borde makes it entertaining to watch. As the film progresses, it is clear that whatever La Borde’s first impressions of Jeanne were, at the end he is a man with a beautiful heart. I enjoyed Lavernhe’s portrayal of a man who is doing is best with a woman who knows who she is and his uncomfortability is often tested.

Djimo as Zamor is a young man who is given to Jeanne by the King but he is not from France. She raises and loves the young boy but there will come a time where he must decide his own future fate. Le Fur as the Dauphin sees that Jeanne makes his father happy and also sees that family and the court are making life difficult for her. He will also come to a point in his life where the world will change.

Other cast include Gregoire Oestermann as Abbot Louis-Nicolas Maudoux, Patrick d’Assumcao as Etienne Francois, duc de Choiseul, Marianne Basler as Anne Becu, Noemie Lvovsky as Countess Anne de Noailles, and Micha Lescot as Florimond Claude.

Vertical Entertainment is a global independent distributor that offers a unique wealth of experience minus the studio costs. They have won a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress for Molly Shannon’s role in OTHER PEOPLE and the film won a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Film Limited Release, Best International Film for Babak Anvari’s UNDER THE SHADOW, a BAFTA and three Independent British Independent Film Awards as well.

JEANNE DU BARRY was the Official Selection in 2023 at the Cannes Film Festival, 2023 nominee for the Golden Tower, Best Film at the Palic Film Festival and nominated for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design by Cesar Awards in France.

Director/writer Maiwenn says of her film and role in JEANNE DU BARRY, “It started when I saw Sofia Coppola’s MARIE ANTOINETTE in 2006. As soon as Jeanne appeared on screen, I was fascinated by her character, played by Asia Argento. I immediately felt a strong connection with her and missed her as soon as she wasn’t on the screen. I fell in love with her and her era. I immersed myself in a detailed biography of her and felt the need to make a film about her right then.”

Her love affair with Jeanne clearly shows starting with letting the viewer know a bit of her history. As one who is fascinated with people in history, I also was interested in Jeanne. What Maiwenn does is dive right into her story and make it plain that there are no excuses for how this woman chose to live her life and I’m all about it. Adding a dash of Depp to the mix and giving him a crown was equally incredible. There was more on this actor’s character than needed to be spoken out loud, until he truly needed to.

As someone who absolutely adores period films, the production on this film is lavish, opulent and the Hall of Mirrors is just as stunning as I would ever have imagined. The costuming is stunning and gives every thread of the upper-class dress, wigs, jewelry etc. This film is definitely one that I will watch again and again. Maiwenn is a genius and I said what I said!

In the end – from illegitimacy to having the love of a King!

RESISTANCE – They Fought Back

Jeri Jacquin

Currently in New York and coming to Los Angeles from directors Paula S. Apsell, Kirk Wolfinger and Abramorama is the stunning documentary RESISTANCE – They Fought Back.

At Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Virginia, Professor Richard Freund, a Jewish Historian, Archaeologist tells of student asking, “why didn’t the Jews resist the Nazis?”. It is 1944 and the Germans are losing the war but the death camps are going strong. It is the voice of Marcel Nadjari, an Auschwitz prisoner says they were taken from Greece to a crematorium. Nadjari was one of the Sonderkommando.

Professor Gideon Greif, a Holocaust Historian referred to the prisoners, and rightly so, of being slaves to the Germans. Nadjari tells of what happened to the people in the chambers keeping the death camps a secret. Nadjari tells his own secret of crematorium 3 and the discovery of nine letters. Buried in a thermos, he describes in detail of the schedule giving historians a perspective of what actually happened.

Pawel Sawicki of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, thought the find incredible. Professor Freund believes that resistance is where the stories begin. He believes that the Jews did not go to their death like sheep to a slaughter but, in fact, they fought back (both armed and unarmed).

The documentary calls BOOK 1: Amidah – Resistance by any other name, and begins in Warsaw, Poland in 1939. As the Germans attack Poland, the war has officially begun. Seventeen-year-old Feige Peltel (codename: Vladka), speaks about when the Germans entered their city. Feige’s father tells them that the Germans are human and is shocked to discover what they are truly capable of. Vladka’s son Steven and wife Rita talk about what the family was told about the Germans. Father Benjamin Meed (and later Vladka’s husband) at the tender age of 21 was part of the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance.

Poland has a large Jewish population and the Germans would make it a prison. Professor Avinoam Patt from New York University, tells of how half a million Jews were forced into a ghetto. Marek Edelman, 21, was also a part of the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance and describes the living conditions forced on the Jewish people. From the small spaces to the amount of food they could eat, the Germans even filmed the death of people as if they were to blame.

The question of “why didn’t they fight back?” is answered by Rita Meed of ‘collective punishment’. If one person did something to fight back, one thousand could be punished for it. Their resistance was more spiritual and taking care of one another. The unarmed resistance is called Amidah explains Professor Dina Porat, Yad Vashem/Tel Aviv University. It means ‘stand up’ – meaning they will not give in to what is happening. Professor Yehuda Bauer of Yad Vashem/Hebrew University expands the definition as to “sit, stand, lie, or swim or stand up – it makes absolutely no difference – it is Amidah.”

Benjamin Meed took it upon himself to start a school because, as Professor Bauer says, “educating the young for after the war was against the Germans way”. Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi of Poland says, “the Germans wanted to undermine the humanity of the individual”. Germans wanted to show beggars and such to propagate their agenda. To keep their humanity together, people like Emanuel Ringelblum (codename: Oyneg Shabes) is going to make sure that it doesn’t happen by documenting life in the ghetto by becoming the Leader of Oyneg Shabes Archive. They documented life in the Warsaw ghetto, sealed it and buried it. David Graber, 19, buried the archive in the ground saying, “let history bear witness”.

Poland waits for the occupation to end not realizing that the goal of the Nazis is extermination. In Kovno, Lithuania, it is happening. A ghetto has sprung up and an underground resistance takes shape with more schools and an orchestra. At Fort IX in Kaunas/Kovno, Lithuania, Jews are disappearing. Paul Bauman, BGC Engineering Inc., talk of how people now do not know that 50,000 Jews died in this wide-open spot. Bauman’s team of engineers is trying to locate the death trenches. Ilya Lensky of the Jews in Latvia Museum says that no one could have believed what happened could happen. Professor Harry Jol, University of Wisconsin – EAU Claire, says what is important that stories are believed and they are here to verify stories.

The parents of the children of Kovno tried to save them. Professor Patrick Henry of Whitman College Emeritus says that only 11% of Jewish children survived to 1945. One such survivor is Dana Mazurkevich, Violinist, who’s parents found a way to smuggle her to safety as a small baby. She saw her parents doing so as a huge act of resistance.

In Vilnius Lithuania, also called Vilna, was considered the most Jewish city in the world as Professor David Fishman, from the Jewish Theological Seminary, explains. Samuel Bak, an artist, was a ghetto survivor from Vilna who saw his home as a center of learning and spirituality. The Germans arrived, attacking in 1941 and became overwhelmed with all things Jewish so they created The Paper Brigade to go through everything. Hadas Kalderon, granddaughter of the Yiddish Poet Avrom Sutzkever said the Germans wanted to make a Jewish Museum without Jewish people. Her grandfather was chosen to select the materials but instead, they spent time rescuing books and papers. What they could get through, they made a library and seen as a form of resistance.

Michael Kovner, son of Abba and Vitka Kempner-Kovner, is a painter like his father. The youth movement became important for the young. Two-thirds of the 70,000 population of Vilna were killed in the first six months of German occupation. In the Ponari Forest outside of Vilna are burial pits holding over 100,000 people. In 1941, Lovner calls out for the Jews to fight back knowing that once out of the gates, people will not come back. They are about to get help from a Finnish book. Now, Vilna has one goal – armed uprising.

But they were not the only ones preparing!

Also included, Professor Michael Berenbaum (American Jewish University), Margers Vestermanis (Historian, Riga Ghetto Survivor), Professor Yoel Yaari (Son of Bela Hazan), Lior Inbar (Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum), Professor Avinoam Patt (New York University), Professor Havi Dreifuss (Yad Vashem/Tel Aviv University), Michael Mackiewicz (Polish Army Museum), Mordecai Anielewicz (Commander, Warsaw Ghetto Uprising), Krystina Budnicka (Warsaw Ghetto Survivor), Svetlana Shtarkman (Historian/Tour Guide), Yonat Rotbain (Daughter of Ruzka Korchak), Michael Kagan (Son of Jack Kagan, Survivor), Chaim Melcer (Sobibor), Tomaz Oleksy-Zborowoski (Museum and Memorial in Sobibor), Esther Raab (Sobibor Resistance survivor), Alexander Pechersky (Soviet POW), Leon Felhendler (Son of a Rabbi), David Gur (Budapest Resistance Fighter), Professor Steven Bowman (University of Cincinnati Emeritus), Leon Cohen (Sonderkommando Prisoner), Eliezer Eisenschmidt (Sonderkommando Prisoner), and Ronnen Harran (Son of Ada Neufeld, Survivor).

Abramorama is the preeminent global theatrical distributions and rights partner for many documentary and music films and is recognized for the consistent high quality of its work on award winning features. Over the course of 20 years, Abramorama has successfully distributed and marketed hundreds of films including Ron Howard’s Grammy Award Winning THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK, Stanley Nelson’s MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL, as well as Academy Award Nominee and IDA Best Documentary Winner THE LOOK OF SILENCE. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.abramorama.com.

RESISTANCE – They Fought Back was the Official Selection of the 2023 Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Award Winner, Official Selection of the 2023 LA Indies – Award Winner, Official Selection of the 2023 Toronto Documentary Feature & Short Film Festival – Award Winner for Best Feature and Official Selection for the Boston Jewish Film Festival.

Filmed in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel and the United States, this film corrects the Jewish passivity myth. Eastern Europe held wide campaigns of resistance against the Nazis. This is a stunning documentary filled with stories that were never told in school or college. The documentary should now be considered a tool for teaching the truth about the Jewish Resistance. The question should never again be “why didn’t they fight the Nazis” but instead “tell us the story of the Jewish Resistance”.

I was moved beyond reason through the entire hour and a half of storytelling. It is intense, frightening, immensely sad but at the same time fascinating because of the stories being shared. Especially with the conflicts now, this documentary shares what it means to resist and on how many levels that applies to the Jewish people. Filmed in three “books”, it shows the heart of the Jewish people and the importance of never forgetting what happened so that it will never happen again. Yes, that phrase is said again and again but with this documentary, it has a whole new meaning.

In the end – you were taught they went like sheep to the slaughter, you were taught a Nazi lie!

MACBETH Comes to Theatres for Two Nights Only

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from director Simon Godwin and Trafalgar Releasing in the U.S. and globally is the wonderful production of William Shakespeare’s MACBETH.

Macbeth (Ralph Fiennes) is a Thane who believes he doesn’t deserve the combat accolades and upon his return home is finding it difficult to sleep. Wife Lady Macbeth (Indira Varma) is happy to have her husband home but has goals for them both. It is time for King Duncan to go away and a new king be crowned.

Murder seems to run rampant in the Scottish Thane household with a set that contains a set of stairs, a few doors and a grey-ish black interior, much like, I suspect, the hearts of a few of its residents. The witches (or weird sisters) chanting “double double toil and trouble” don’t seem to choose sides but clearly know more than anyone else.

After a brief intermission, we find Macbeth and Lady Macbeth having dinner not thinking of what has brought him to a royal status. At the table, Macbeth is seeing something that no one else does. Lady Macbeth is trying to keep him under control but she isn’t happy by his guilty behavior which continually goes from happy to fear ridden.

Knowing that his lack of sleep is causing his vexing, Fiennes gives the performance depth and the frailties of a man whose mental health is truly being challenged by unseen forced. The witches proclaim that “something wicked this way comes” as Macbeth has something to say about their presence once again. Getting the living to say exactly what they wish; the witches are having their way.

Macduff (Ben Turner) has made his way out of Macbeth’s reach to England and now the anger will fall upon his wife and children. It is Ross (Ben Allen) who must break the news and, in that moment, Turner’s Macduff must come to terms with what has happened and, in Ross’ words, “take it like a man”. Macduff replies, “and I shall feel it like a man”. That is such a powerful phrase as we are drawn into his pain.

Lady Macbeth is now becoming as her husband has been. In the midst of it, a battle is coming as Macbeth prepares. Scotland will have its justice!

Ralph Fiennes is a Tony and BAFTA Award winner who portrays Macbeth on a roller coaster of every human emotion with a thin wrap of madness for good measure. There is something so mystical about Fiennes’ interpretation of a man who clearly has lost his grasp on the realities around him.

Indira Varma is an Olivier Award winner is a wife who has plans of her owns when her husband returns. Trying to keep it together when husband Macbeth has mad moments, Varma is strong and powerful in the role of Lady Macbeth.

Ben Turner as Macduff is a man who knows he must get away from Macbeth’s grasp but what he doesn’t realize is that it will cost him more than he could ever have imagined. His scene of grief is one of the most powerful on the stage.

Other cast include Ewan Black as Malcolm, Levi Brown as Angus, Jonathan Case as Seyton, Danielle Fiamanya as the Second Witch, Keith Fleming as King Duncan/Siward, Michael Hodgson as the second murderer, Lucy Mangan as the First Witch, Jake Neads as the first murderer/Donalbain, Richard Pepper as Lennox, Steffan Rhodri as Banquo, Rose Riley as Menteith, Lola Shalan as the Third Witch, Rebecca Scroggs as Lady Macduff/Doctor, and Ethan Thomas as Fleance.

Trafalgar Releasing harnesses the power of cinema to bring fans together in more than 15,000 cinemas across 132 countries. Featuring live concerts, music documentaries, award-winning theatre, world-class opera and ballet, and more from leading names in entertainment such as Taylor Swift, Coldplay, The Royal Opera House, Concord Originals, Hasbro and others. Trafalgar Releasing has repeatedly shattered event cinema box office records, and most recently for TAYLOR SWIFT – THE ERAS TOUR, the highest-grossing concert film of all time. For more information, please visit www.trafalgar-releasing.com.

The Wessex Grove is a theatrical production company set up by Benjamin Lowy and Emily Vaughan-Barratt in 2020. Current and upcoming productions include Thomas Ostermeier’s An Enemy of the People with Matt Smith at The Duke of Yorks Theatre and many more.

Underbelly is a UK-based live entertainment company founded in 2000 by Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood that specializes in producing and programming ground-breaking theatrical productions and cultural events and festival from theatres to roundabouts from London to Asia.

Director Godwin who has also produced Antony & Cleopatra, Romeo & Juliet and Hansard brings Shakespeare in a way that, for me, it mesmerizing. Take away the outside noise of whittle it down to just the cast, there is nothing to distract from become totally engrossed in the story.

Spending time in Shakespeare’s world is always an amazing experience. You can see it done so many ways and on so many levels but the work of Macbeth is still strong, can be moving, cite to anger and even, if we dare, bring about a chuckle or two. I am one who enjoys Shakespearean performances in all the stories so to see Fiennes and Varma give their take with director Godwin, “performed in measure, time and place”.

To discover where MACBETH is playing in your local theatre on May 2^nd and May 5^th only, and obtain tickets, please visit www.macbethincinemas.com.

THE BARKERS: Mind the Cats

Jeri Jacquin

Coming soon to On Demand and Digital from directors Elena Galdobina, Fyodor Dmitriev and Lionsgate comes the story of family only the furry side with THE BARKERS.

The Barkers are a family of canines who are about to spend the summer at Grandpa’s. Kid, the youngest pup, can’t seem to find anyone who is willing to play with him before they leave. Brother Alex is the inventor of the family and doesn’t have time to stop what he is doing. Brother Max spends all his time on social media trying to come up with ways to be a star. Sister Rose is all about being a teenager while babying a crush on Tim and Liza has a penchant for the dramatic.

Once arriving at Grandpa’s, Kid thinks he will finally have someone to play with but that doesn’t happen. Especially since Max has talked Alex into making him a rocket pack so he can make a splash on social media. The Kid walks into the forest where he meets two cats who have decided that The Barkers are infringing on their turf. After a conversation with the small pup, the idea comes to the cats to get their hands on the rocket pack!

The problem is, Alex hasn’t exactly perfected it. Grandpa asks the Kid to come and spend time with him. At first the pup says he can’t but then realizes he is hurting his Grandpa’s feelings. Sending a message to the cats about the rocket pack with Rose, things go even more wrong. When they all go visit the neighbor, the cats are in for a big surprise. Instead of causing problems for The Barkers, the cats realize it is better to be friends than do wrong.

That’s a lesson for us all!

The cast is voiced by Courtney Shaw, Wayne Grayson, Jessica Paquet, Tom Wayland, Erica Schroeder, Samantha Cooper, Laurie Hymes and Mike Pollock.

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now, adding this film to its 16,000-motion picture and television titles you can see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com.

THE BARKERS: Mind the Cats is family fun from start to finish. Done is bright animation, it is fun to follow the talking & dancing dogs. It begins as a story about the youngest trying to find his place in a large family just wanting to spend quality time with the siblings. Thrilled to find friendship at Grandpa’s, he doesn’t realize that his ‘new’ friends don’t exactly have his best interest at heart.

Grandpa is so loving, wonderful and understanding with the Kid. This brings to the forefront that Grandpa and grandson have a lot in common in the way of wanting to spend time with those that are loved in the family. Even the relationship between the rest of the siblings is, for anyone who has siblings, totally relatable. They drive you crazy one minute and you love them dearly the next.

The songs are really catchy and the tunes are going to be fun for kids to sing the more they watch the film. I know in this family we are now Barker Family fans.

In the end – this is what being part of a family and making friends is all about!

Celebrating the 35th Anniversary is STEEL MAGNOLIAS

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD and Digital from director Herbert Ross and Sony Pictures Home Entertainments celebrating the 35^th Anniversary of release is the beloved story of women who are STEEL MAGNOLIAS.

In the quaint southern town of Chinquapin Parish in Louisiana, a young Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah) is looking to restart her life in the new town with a job at an at-home beauty salon owned by Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton). Cross town, M’Lynn Eatenton (Sally Fields) is attempting to get her home together for a reception after the wedding of her daughter Shelby (Julia Roberts).

Causing problems is her husband Drum (Tom Skerritt) who thinks shooting birds is a good thing prior to the wedding. To get away, M’Lynn and Shelby head off to Truvy’s to get their hair done where they see the very intense Louisa Boudreaux (Shirley MacLaine). Amused by her is Clairee Belcher (Olympia Dukakis) who likes to poke her friend. While getting her hair done, Shelby, who suffers from diabetes, has an attack that brings the salon to a standstill.

At the wedding, Shelby marries Jackson Latcherie (Dylan McDermott) and Annelle meets bartender Sammy DeSoto (Kevin J. O’Connor). Months go by and Shelby visits home for the Christmas gathering and announces she is expecting. M’Lynn is horrified knowing that her health is at risk.

The girls come together to help their friend and support everything that they are going through. M’Lynn, Truvy, Clairee, Annelle, and Louisa know there is nothing that they can not handle together. Life with their men, love of their friends and family and knowing that there isn’t anything they can’t do with words of love, support and laughter.

Fields as M’Lynn seems to be the calmest character in the film but with the most intensity in her life. She goes with the southern flow and tries to see the good in all things but sometimes, there are moments where it all catches up. I love Fields in this role and when the story calls for it, she is free to let loose with emotion and sane insanity.

Parton as Truvy is straight forward and doesn’t take a lot of guff from anyone. This character loves good gossip, a salon full of women and is there when she is truly needed. Taking Annelle under her wing, it can be testing at times but no friendship is too small for Truvy. Hannah as Annelle comes in shy, gets a bit crazy, goes Sunday southern but one of the girls when it counts.

MacLaine as Louisa is the typical a tad grumpy southern woman who just doesn’t have room in her life for nonsense. I always saw this character as not exactly wrong in her thinking and totally misunderstood outside her friendship group, okay, I just adore this character. Dukakis as Clairee is the town grande dame who knows everyone, everything and treats it all as her own little playground in a way. She is just cheeky when she needs and strong when her friends need her to be, just an absolutely delightful character and the friendship with Louisa is perfection.

Skeritt as Drum cracks me up totally and loves his family, Sheppard as Drum is laid back and doesn’t like to rock the boat but clearly loves his wife, McDermott as Jackson is just trying to live the life he always has but now with a wife and a bit of legal status, and O’Connor hasn’t yet learned the phrase “happy wife happy life” but tries.

Other cast include Bill McCutcheon as Owen Jenkins, Ann Wedgeworth as Fern Thornton, BiBi Besch as Belle Marmillion, Janine Turner as Nancy Beth, James Wlcek as Marshall Marmillion, Ronald Young as Drew, Tom Hodges as Louie, Norman Fletcher as Latcherie Sr., Jonathan Ward as Jonathan, Knowl Johnson as Tommy and Sam Shepard as Spud Jones.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

Bonus Materials include 4K Ultra HD Disc, Newly remastered in 4K resolution from the original camera negative, with Dolby Vision, and All-new Dolby Atmos audio + 5.1 + 2-channel surround. The Special Features are NEW: Steel Magnolias 1990 TV Pilot, Director’s Commentary, In Full Bloom: Remembering Steel Magnolias, 10 Deleted Scenes and Theatrical Trailer.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS is a film of love, family, friendships, loyalty and loss from start to finish. It is full of laughter, common southern sense with a heaping spoonful of no-nonsense. The cast brings Louisiana into the homes of everyone who has never experienced their world. Spending years in Alabama, I laughed through the film absolutely because none of it was a stretch. My parents actually lived next door to a real-life Truvy with her own salon in what was once a garage!

There isn’t anything in the film, actually, that doesn’t take me back to that small town living, small town friendships and every-body-knows-every-body’s-business feel. It is just a total delight from start to finished as the cast brings it home with just as much ease as the story begins.  

Curl up on the sofa with your favorite people, make sure there is Kleenex available and a cup of sweet tea and revisit or see this film for the first time. I can guarantee that STEEL MAGNOLIAS will be one you watch again and again.

In the end – the funny of the south that will bring you to tears!

He Comes Home to ROLLING THUNDER

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD and Bluray from director John Flynn and Shout! Studios is the story of a man returning from war and discovering ROLLING THUNDER.

It is 1973 and after being held for seven years in a Hanoi prison, POW Major Charles Rane (William Devane) is returning home along with Master Sgt. Johnny Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones). Being welcomed back to San Antonio, Texas, Rane realizes that his son Mark (Jordan Gerler) does not remember him. Wife Janet (Lisa Richards) tries to make him feel at home but is nervous and a bit uncomfortable.

Once they have a chance to be alone, Janet confesses what her life has been like for the seven years Rane was gone and it is clear he cannot have his old life back. The town holds a ceremony to welcome home Rane and give him a new Cadillac and a chest of silver dollars, one for every day he was in captivity. An extra one is added by Linda (Linda Haynes) who wore Rane’s POW bracelet the entire time he was gone.

Going to the baseball field to watch son Mark play, Rane does not feel welcome so he heads home. Once there, he is jumped in his own living room by men who want the silver dollars he was given. The Texan (James Best), Automatic Slim (Luke Askew), T-Bird (Charles Escamilla) and Melio (Peter Ortega) don’t understand that Rane was tortured in Hanoi so anything these men do to him can’t possibly compare. When Janet and Mark return home, they are held until the men get what they want and chaos breaks out.

Recovering at the hospital, Linda and Vohden come for visits. Vohden tells Rane that he has signed up again for the military. Linda learns that Rane wants to go to Mexico and Linda decides to come along but doesn’t know what he is really going to be doing. When his plan begins to falter, Rane calls Vohden to follow the men to Juarez, Mexico where the two decide its time to settle up and they know how to do it.

Devane as Rane is a young actor here who gives the character of a stoic solder returning from a seven-year nightmare. Not reacting as others perhaps would wish, he goes along to get along. Knowing returning soldiers, he truly does grasp the assignment, even in 1977 when that phrase wasn’t even thought of.

Jones as Vohden is also trying to acclimate to being back in the United States. Feeling he can’t do that, rejoining the military seemed like the only answers. When his friend Rane reaches out, he knows exactly what has to happen to make it right in Rane’s world. Jones is also a very young actor in this film but that doesn’t mean his character isn’t all about business.

Haynes as Linda is a woman who made it clear from their first meeting that she is interested in Rane. She jumps at the chance to go with him to Mexico and once she realizes the purpose, the realization that what she wants from him isn’t going to happen.

Best, Askew, Escamilla and Ortega are the gang of men who have no qualms about hurting a hero or his family. They want what they want and will do anything to get it. From the moment they are on screen till the end, these actors give unscrupulous a scruffy, terrifying look that works for the film.

Other cast include Lawrason Driscoll as Deputy Cliff Nichols, Jacque Burandt as Bebe, Paul A. Partain as Ethan, James N. Harrell as Grandpa and Cassie Yates as Candy.

SHOUT! Studios has grown into a tremendous multi-platform media company. Releasing new animated features such as the exquisite Long Way North, and the epic fantasy Beauty and The Beast. Also, their own original horror film, Fender Bender gives fans a good scare. For more of what SHOUT has to offer please visit www.shoutfactory.com.

Disc One includes the 4K Ultra HD Disc in 2160p Ultra High-Definition HDR Widescreen and Master Audio. Disc Two includes the Bluray and New 4K Transfer from the 35mm Original Camera Negative, New Audio Commentary with Screenwriter/Novelist Heywood Gould and Author/Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner, New Audio Commentary with Filmmakers Jackson Stewart and Francis Galluppi, New “Lean and Mean: The Early Films of John Flynn” – An Interview with Author/Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner, and New “Coming Home to War: Scoring ROLLING THUNDER” – An Interview with Composer Barry De Vorzon.

Also, “The Making of ROLLING THUNDER” – Featuring Interviews with Actors William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones and Writers Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould, Trailers from Hell – Filmmakers Eli Roth on ROLLING THUNDER, Theatrical Trailer, TV Spot, Radio Spots, Still Gallery, 2160p Ultra High-Definition Widescreen and English DTS-HD Master Audio.

ROLLING THUNDER is a film about the return of seven years of captivity and torture to a place where is seems just as brutal. Devane gives the performance of a man who has had his life jumbled to the point of knowing that something has to give – and he’ll gladly give it. That is part and parcel of films around this time as well and it is done well.

It doesn’t give any moments of peace, just like the characters of Rane and Vohden, and continually assaults the senses. These two characters are well aware of pain, suffering and what it takes to survive. Once their fearless switch is hit, there is nothing or no one that will stand in their way of accomplishing their own personal mission.

In the end – they have no idea what they’ve done!

She is MADAME WEB

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from writer/director S.J. Clarkson and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the story of MADAME WEB.

Constance Webb (Kerry Bishe) is in the jungle of Peru in 1973 looking for a spider that has healing properties. Excited about finding one, Constance is attacked by researcher Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) and left for dead. Pregnant, she is found by the local indigenous tribe and they can not save her but manage to save her birthed daughter Cassandra.

Some years later, Cassandra (Dakota Johnson) is a paramedic in New York City. Driving her patients to the hospital is her goal and partner Ben Parker (Adam Scott) knows exactly what it’s like to work with her. During a call, Cassie lands in the water and it causes a near-death experience but something begins to happen to her. Call it déjà vu, she begins to see things that haven’t happened yet and into the future.

Three girls Julia (Sydney Sweeney), Anya (Isabela Merced), and Mattie (Celeste O’Connor) are about to meet Cassie under the strangest of circumstances. While aboard a subway, Cassie sees what is about to happen to the girls and makes it her mission to protect them. It is Ezekiel who is hunting these girls and wants them disposed of because of his own premonitions. Hiding the girls and asking them to wait until she returns, the girls decide they know better and once again Ezekiel discovers where they are.

Cassie has to rescue them a second time and takes them to Ben’s house. Realizing she must go to Peru to find out what happened to her mother, the girls agree to wait for her return. Once in Peru, Cassie learns of what happened to her mother and what it is she is experiencing. Thinking that her mother just didn’t care about her, it now becomes clear what the true circumstances were to the trip to Peru in the first place.

In the states, Ben’s sister-in-law Mary (Emma Roberts) is going into labor and Cassie can feel what is about to happen. Ben loads up the girls and Mary to get her to the hospital as Ezekiel finds them once again. An epic battle between the two leads to another life for Cassie but one she clearly already knows as she promises the girls she will mentor them when the time comes!

Dakota as Cassie is a young woman who, after an accident, understands that perhaps it is time to discover what really happened to her mother. Once she does, it changes the way she sees her life. Now she wants to protect Julia, Anya and Mattie and the only way to do that is stop Ezekiel from capturing them.

Sweeney as Julia is the calm one who is trying to understand what is happening and counting on Cassie to find the answers. Merced as Anya clearly gets that someone wants to hurt all three of them and wants to stay together until they can figure it out. O’Connor as Mattie tends to push the limits of “stay here till I get back!” and each time is causing a lot of problems.

Rahim as Ezekiel knows what he did to Cassie’s Mom but the years has made him more bold and more powerful. He knows that three girls are going to try and stop him so his goal is to stop them first. Scott as Ben knows Cassie can be a mess in the way she handles things but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to help her. Mamet as Amaria has her own way of finding what Ezekiel needs.

Other cast includes Zosia Mamet as Amaria, Kathy-Ann Hart as Susan, Jose Yazpik as Santiago and Mike Epps as O’Neil.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Bonus Materials on 4K UHD, Bluray and Digital include Gag Reel, Easter Eggs, Oracle of the Page, Fight Like a Spider, Future Vision, Casting the Web and Deleted Scenes. On DVD is Future Vision and Casting the Web.

MADAME WEB has a good start in the story it wants to tell. Johnson as Cassie takes us on the adventure to Peru to find those answers. There are bits of the story that are lacking in the way it is told but for fans who have been waiting for this film, it isn’t about to stop them from filling in the blanks on their own.

The film definetly has superheroine written all over it in the style of the story, the special effects and destruction that they always seem to leave in their wake. There is a definite connection between Cassie and the girls but the connection between Cassie and Ezekiel is clearly one that is rage and greed filled, let’s see which one lets it get to them the most.

Gather the family, a huge bowl of popcorn, turn the lights out and watch for something crawling across the walls and if you need to call for MADAME WEB!

In the end – her web connects them all!

They Are THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from director Guy Ritchie and Lionsgate comes a story about a group with special talents as THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANDLY WARFARE.

It is 1940 World War II and Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear) is up against the ropes. Looking to Brigadier Grubbins aka M (Gary Elwes) to make something happen, he brings in Ian Fleming (Freddie Fox), Mr. Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Eiza Gonzalez) together so they can meet Gus March-Phillipps (Henry Cavill).

Gus is a man who knows how to get the job done but is constantly in trouble for it because he ignores orders. That’s what M is hoping for in a mission to destroy one important ship that could turn the tide for the U.S. to get involved and safe passage across the oceans. Gus agrees to the mission but he wants his team of misfits including Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson), Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding), Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin).

There is one member of the team Gus is requesting, Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer), who has been captured by the Nazi’s but the group agrees that rescue is on its way to their mission site. Meeting them there is Stewart and Heron who are setting things up. Heron makes it clear that Stewart needs to get in the good graces of Heinrich Luhr (Til Schweiger), a man who gives off evil vibes.

As the plan goes sideways, leave it to the group to make it work because they must!

Cavill as Gus is hilarious, focused and won’t do any mission without the help of the crew he trusts. He is a leader and allows his crew to help make Churchill’s plan come to fruition. I have to say, Cavill looks like he is having the time of his life being a bad guy doing bad things but for a good cause. He gives his character a calm and a bit of a twisted fashion sense that lends to a great character.

Golding as Alvarez plays off Cavill’s character with ease. Together, they are amazing with Golding’s character enjoying making mayhem with loud explosions. He is all in when it comes to making sure the plan happens, Golding gives us a different look at a role that just works for him. Tiffin as Hayes is a young man who has his reasons for being part of the crew, he believes in Gus as the leader and is ready for anything.

Gonzalez as Stewart learns who she must deal with and may be wary but it doesn’t stop her from handling herself through the mission. Olusanmokun as Mr. Heron knowns his assignment and sees it through. Elwes as M tries to be very military but underneath, he knows that choosing Gus and the gang that rules will be broken. I love his eyerolls at the introduction of Gus and I’m just thrilled to see Elwes on the screen.

Ritchson as Lassen is the strong and brutal type who makes Legolas from Lord of the Rings looks like an amateur and its hilarious. Ritchson can also be seen in the recently released ORDINARY ANGELS in a totally different role as a father with a child that is seriously ill. Pettyfer as Appleyard is witty and happy to be part of the group. His Magic Mike days have shown he has grown as an actor and in this film, he gets a chance to be part of an amazing group. Kinnear as Churchill is as unrecognizable in this role as he was in the Penny Dreadful performance. As Churchill, Kinnear follows the story of what the prime minister went through during a very difficult time for Britian during the war. Kinnear gives a wonderful performance.

Schwiger as Luhr is a very twisted character but then again it is not a difficult role since he is now the opposite of his 2099 role of Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz. That character hunted Nazi’s and now Luhr is the Nazi who is as brutal as his stone face.

Shout out to Danny Sapani as Bilil, he gets to be part of something that will rid his island of the Nazi’s. Sapani has a nice moment with Cavill’s Gus as both characters make it clear that their goal is destruction of evil.

Other cast include James Wilby as Viscount Algernon, Henrique Zaga as Captain Binea, Danny Sapani as Kambili Kalu, Matthew Hawksley as Sir Percy, Simon Paisley Day as Admiral Pound, and Mark Oosterveen as Air Marshall Dowding.

The film is based on the book from Damien Lewis The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill’s Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops. The script was done by Arash Amel as Guy Ritchie signed on to direct the film.

THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE is a thrill to watch from start to finish. Watching a plan come together is always a fun even if it doesn’t go exactly as everyone thought. There is something to be said for ignoring your superiors and that, in fact, is why the gang was asked to do what would be considered impossible.

The cast is amazing led by Cavill but, at the same time, he doesn’t overshadow anyone. Each character stands out in their own way based on what they were good at – like Golding’s Alvarez and explosives. That’s a talent in itself but you add Hayes driving the boat and Cavill’s twisted sense of humor – it all just works so well and its fun..

Gather up your own gang and see the impressive, thrilling and action-packed film so you can jaw drop and cheer a part of history that is now out for the world to know about.

In the end – together they are deadly but that’s what others count on!

The Action Thriller ARGYLLE

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently streaming on Apple TV+ from director Matthew Vaughn and Apple Original Films is the story of a writer and a chase for ARGYLLE.

Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a cat lady who is about to finish her fifth successful book. Running into problems finishing the book, she calls Mom Ruth (Catherine O’Hara) who agrees to come help with ideas, even her imaginary hero Argylle (Henry Cavill) wants to know what is next. Elly decides she’d rather pack it up and go visit Mom and dad Barry (Bryan Cranston).

On the train, she is met with a real spy Aidan Wilde (Sam Rockwell) who tells her that a group known as The Division want her because the books that are too close to the truth of things. Aidan wants Elly to write the next chapter so he can figure out a way to stop The Division. Elly makes it clear she doesn’t work that way.

When Wilde lets her know that there is a Masterkey to everything, she decides that she wants more answers after meeting Alfie (Samuel L. Jackson). There is something else that Wilde isn’t telling her but only time will tell if Elly, like her novels, discovers the mystery all on her own

Howard as Elly is so much fun to watch as her character comes out of her shell, as it were, yet manages to do it all while toting a cat! Not sure my cat would be happy with that kind of adventure. Watching Howard turn it out was nice to see and, I don’t think I’ll ever look at ice skating the same again. She gave her character so much in the way of action and adventure that I absolutely loved it.

Rockwell as Wilde gives such a casual character from start to finish. Nothing seems to phase him much as he takes Elly on the ride of her life – until it’s his life that comes into play. Rockwell also bring the dry humor and I would expect no less from him. It looks like he is just having fun playing the character of Wilde and why shouldn’t he, it all should be as much fun for him as it was for me.

Cavill as Argylle is smooth, suave, handsome, agile and sharp with one-liners. I can only hope that, when looking for a new Bond, they see what everyone else sees – he would be an amazing Bond. Okay, now, I’m not a fan of remakes but I have to say that his announcement at CinemaCon that he is working on HIGHLANDER gave me chills. He’s just amazing and that’s it.

O’Hara as Ruth is a mom who wants to help her daughter with her writer’s block and whatever else she is going through. I just love O’Hara so she could have just stood silent in the film and I’d be thrilled. Cranston as dad Barry is also someone else that Elly should watch out for. The thing about Cranston is he can be good as good can be but he can also be as bad as he wants to be.

Shout out to John Cena for being a Bond-ish sidekick and Jackson making vineyard living while spying look good.

Other cast include Rob Delaney as Deputy Powell, Richard E. Grant as Fowler, Louis Patridge as young Argylle, Sofia Boutella as Saba Al-Badr, Jua Lipa as LaGrange, and Ariana DeBose as Keira.

Apple+ is a video on demand web television that debuted in 2019. Viewable through Apple’s TV app, CEO Tim Cook wanted original content calling it “a great opportunity for us from a creation point of view”. From THE MORNING SHOW to TRYING and THE BANKER and Jason Momoa in SEE, there is plenty of choices for everyone. Plenty of genres? That is exactly what they are bringing to viewers and to see more of what they have to offer please visit www.apple.com/tv/.

ARGYLLE has, and I have to say it, a bit of the 1984 film ROMANCING THE STONE with Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito. Yes, I realize I’ve just aged myself and also realize most people don’t remember this film. Perhaps that’s what ARGYLLE is counting on.

Now, that being said, it is a fun film full of twists, turns and surprises. Because of all of those things, I can honestly say I had a wonderful time watching it (being a cat person and all). The constant clues, jumping from place to place, never knowing who to trust and revelations makes ARGYLLE a good time to be had by all.

It’s travel, adventure and a bit of mystery in every frame of the film. There is a nice surprise at the end and I’m going to leave it at that!

In the end – once you know the secret, don’t let the cat out of the bag!

DAMAGED

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently in theatres, Digital and OnDemand from director Terry McDonough and Lionsgate is the twisted trail that is DAMAGED.

Dan Lawson (Samuel L. Jackson) is a detective from Chicago who, five years earlier, worked on a serial killer case that was never solved. In Scotland, Glen Boyd (Gianni Capaldi) similar killings are happening and they call Det. Lawson to come and help with their investigation. Boyd is dealing with his own demons at home as he and wife Marie (Laura Haddock) are grieving the loss of his son.

Immediately Lawson visits the crime site and helps Boyd decipher clues and look for suspects. He even calls upon friend Walker Bravo (Vincent Cassel) who was his partner in Chicago. Boyd suspects a man named McGregor (John Hannah) might be responsible when a witness identifies him.

When death gets closer and closer to them all, Boyd and Lawson must work faster to find who is responsible and do whatever it takes to stop it all!

Jackson as Lawson plays this character to a tee. A detective who understands the grief of another, it doesn’t stop him from following the clues left behind by the killer. Jackson’s swagger doesn’t speed up at all and his eye for clues while everyone is scurrying around him is one of his signature moves. The twists and turns are equally as Jackson-esque and it works completely.

Capaldi as Boyd is a man dealing with a family loss and is using his job as a way to avoid wife Marie. Spending more and more time away from home, there comes a time when he must choose how to handle so he can give his all to the investigation. Boyd gives his character all the emotions and anger of a man dealing with home and work life. This scattered range is perfect for the story telling of this film.  

Cassel as Bravo is another smooth character who knows and understands the case that Lawson is working on. Helping where he can, Cassel also gives a smooth performance giving nothing away until he has to. Hannah as McGregor is a man who has is peccadillos but is he the man responsible? Hannah gives his character a straight face and no fear when the police come calling.

Other cast include Mark Holden as Captain Ford, Brian McCardie as Avery, and Kate Dickie as Kessler.

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now, adding this film to its 16,000-motion picture and television titles you can see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com. 

First to get it out of the way, there are a few holes in the plot of the story. There are parts of the story that could have been developed much clearer. There is nothing wrong with a little bit of mystery and I’m all for that, but either play out stories or don’t use them at all. It will be easy to spot what I am speaking of.

DAMAGES is a murder-thriller-shocker not only because of the story that it is telling but the crimes themselves. Director McDonough pushes the boundaries of serial killing and showing the audience what the killer is capable of. I wasn’t sure at first it would but then, bam, there it is, right in your face. The visuals are stunning enough that, at times, it can be sidetracking from the story – but isn’t that the goal?

Keeping the audience in suspense with characters are definetly in the hands of Jackson, Capaldi and Cassell. Keeping the plot going is the characters reactions to everything around them. Twists and turns are everywhere and it is never clear where it will happen or when it will happen, but be very clear, its going to happen.

In the end – the clues are everywhere!