Revisiting the Horror of THANKSGIVING

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming from infamous director Eli Roth and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment comes a serving up of the bloody kind on THANKSGIVING.

It’s the holiday season in Plymouth, Massachusetts and a time for family gathering and good food. That is unless you own the local RightMart store that is having a Black Friday sale. Jessica’s (Nell Verlaque) knows all to well of the chaos as her father Thomas (Rick Hoffman) owns the store. Store manager Mitch (Ty Victor Olsson) has missed his family’s dinner to run to the store and handle the out-of-control crowd.

Jessica takes boyfriend Bobby (Jalen Brooks) and friends Evan (Tomaso Sanelli), Yulia (Jenna Warren), Scuba (Gabriel Davenport) and Evan through a side store door but see what is happening outside. When the people outside see them, it causes a break through the store doors and the horror is captured, posted on social media and Bobby disappears.

A year later, RightMart is having another Black Friday sale and residents are not happy about it, especially Mitch. Jessica, new boyfriend Ryan (Milo Manheim) and friends wake up to be tagged in a social media post. It is eerie with a photo of a well-set Thanksgiving table with their names on the plate tags. Not long after, murder begins to happen in their small town by someone in a John Carver mask.

Sheriff Eric Newlon (Patrick Dempsey) is on the case and knows everyone that is involved in the posting. He tries to reassure everyone that he is following all leads. As the killings continue, Jessica and Bobby try to figure out what is causing it all. From axes to buzzsaws, it leads them ever closer to who is responsible for tearing up their Thanksgiving once again.

Verlaque as Jessica is a young woman dealing with a future step-mother, a father who has checked out a bit and a boyfriend who has disappeared. A year after the incident, Jessica is trying to live a normal life with very little success. When Bobby reappears, she is confused but that doesn’t last as the killings begin. Verlaque gives a strong female role but that doesn’t mean horror is put on the back burner.

Brooks as Bobby is dealing with his own serious trauma from the RightMart tragedy. Coming home Brooks’ character Bobby wants the chance to make things right with Jessica. That gets put on hold when he also wants to find out who is killing off everyone from the tragedy. Manheim as Ryan is the show off of the group and the loudest which isn’t the smartest thing if you are trying to avoid an axe murderer.

Dempsey as the town sheriff knows the families and kids involved. He makes it clear that he wants to find the killer. Dempsey definetly fits the look of a town law man as he navigates trying to put the pieces together of why anyone would kill in such a cruel manner.

Other cast include Addison Rae as Gaby, Tim Dillon as Manny, Russell Yuen as Peter Chu, Derek McGrath as Mayor Cantin, Jeff Teravainen as Bret Labelle, Joe Delfin as McCarty, Karen Cliché as Kathleen, Gina Gershon as Amanda Collins and Adam MacDonald as the voice of John Carver.

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.

Special Features on Bluray and Digital include Exclusives, Deleted & Extended Scenes,Outtakes, Massachusetts Movies: Eli & Jeff’s Early Films, Behind the Screams, Gore Galore and Commentary with Eli Roth and Jeff Rendell. The DVD Special Features include Behind the Screams, Gore Galore and Commentary with Eli Roth and Jeff Rendell.

THANKSGIVING puts the gore in horror and doesn’t forget to add bits of twisted humor, the reality of Black Friday store shopping and plenty of ‘who-dun’ it’. Roth puts it all in a shaker and, like blood splatter, throws it up against the wall to see what it will look like. There is nothing left to the imagination and a few creative bits of gruesome that I hadn’t even considered, well done Mr. Roth.

My family loves Thanksgiving, the preparation, eating but not so much the clean-up. So, we find a way to distract ourselves from it and watch a some of our favorite movies. We are always looking for new and interesting additions and are quite picky. There should be no surprise to anyone who knows us as a family that ‘feel good rom-coms’ are not on the list. THANKSGIVING is now the top of our list!

There was cheering, groaning, laughing – you know, all the inappropriate reactions to a good horror film. That makes Roth practically family!

In the end – this year there will be no leftovers!

 

 

The Boys Are Back in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from director Quentin Tarantino and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment comes one of the most stellar films ever made with the 2009  classic INGLORIOUS BASTERDS.

It is 1941 France and the SS Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) is looking for a Jewish family. Suspecting a farmer is lying to him, what happens as a result shows the absolute heinousness of Landa. A young girl named Shoshanna does manages to escape with her life and nothing else.

Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) has put together a group called the Basterds with Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth), Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger), Corporal Wicki (Gedeon Burkhard) and more. Their goal? To bring fear and horror of their own to the Nazis, so much so that it gets back to Hitler and drives him to madness.

Emmanuelle Mimieux (Melanie Laurent) runs a cinema in Paris and keeps to herself but it does not last long. Capturing the attention of Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl), a German who is celebrated for the number of soldiers he has killed and for a film called Stolz der Nation (Nation's Pride).

Trying to impress Emmanuelle, he wants the premier of the film to be held at her film house but first must convince Joseph Goebbels. She must also meet Landa who is head of security and is told that as long as she runs the projection, there should not be a problem having the premiere.

Learning of what is happening, Lt. Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender) is brought in to help the Basterds plan a little surprise at the premiere. Meeting undercover agent Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger), everything is going smoothly - until it doesn't. Now, Raine must take Donowitz, Ultivich (B.J. Novak) and Ulmer (Omar Doom) along with Stiglitz and Wicki to get the job done.

Landa knows something is wrong and being the steely eyed rat that he is makes a deal so that the plan can move ahead. Both Landa and the Germans in the theatre are not ready for what is to come!

Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine is a man who says exactly what he means and holds nothing back. The calm force behind the Basterds, he leads them forward further and further into occupied France to make sure and take down as many Nazi's as they can. Pitt is nothing short of exceptional in this role and did something fantastic with this character in the look, sound and feel of Lt. Raine. He is charmingly frightening and who would have thought those two words would ever go together.

Waltz as Landa is also charmingly frightening in the look, sound and feel of this totally calm and collected murderer. Seeing the film in 2009 my first thought was, 'man does he love to hear himself talk' and it is in years since that I realized that his talking brought about all the right fear he wanted from his 'victims'. Just wait for that sweat to pour down their foreheads and - he had them! Waltz is an incredible actor and has proven that teaming up with Tarantino again for DJANGO UNCHAINED.

Laurent as Emmanuelle has been trying to live the best life she can under the circumstances. Finding a bit of a harbor in the cinema, everything she had been running from has finally caught up with her. Laurent is exceptional giving her character mannerisms and knowing exactly how she plans to rid herself of past pain. Kruger as von Hammersmark is the femme fatale who can easily work both sides of the fence. Having been a fan of Kruger for a long time, watching her bring everything campy to von Hammersmark, the switch is flipped when one false move sounds the alarms.

Fassbender as Lt. Hicox is fantastic and his scene in the basement bar is everything. There is a standoff like no other and, as with many of the characters in this film, he plays his part until the bitter end. Roth as Donnie "The Bear Jew" is just plain insane from start to finish, His most memorable scene with the clanging of the bat on a bridge wall can never be done again with the same intensity or insanity.

Bruhl as Zoller is a soldier being celebrated for all the wrong reasons in the minds of everyone but the Germans. Giving his character a bit of naiveté and having been shot by Cupids arrow, Bruhl seems to be the only character in the film that doesn't have a plan.

Shout out to Schweiger as Stiglitz because he is a man who does not have to say one stinkin' word because his face tells you everything frightening thing you need to know and, I loved it.

Other cast include August Diehl as Dieter Hellstrom, Denis Menochet as Perrier LaPadite, Hilmar Eichhorn as Emil Jannings, Martin Wutke as Adolf Hiter, Sylvester Groth as Joseph Goebbels, Mike Meyers as General Ed French, Rod Taylor as Winston Churchill, Alexander Fehling as Sgt. Wilhelm, Richard Sammel as Sgt. Rachtman, Sonke Mohring as Butz, Paul Rust as Andy Kagan, Michael Bacall as Michael Zimmerman, Carlos Fidle as Simon Sakowitz and Samuel L. Jackson as the narrator.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.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.

The 4K Ultra HD and Bluray Bonus Features include: Over Two Hours of Bonus', Extended and Alternate Scenes, The New York Times Talks, Roundtable Discussion with Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt and Elvin Mitchell, Nation's Pride, Full Feature THE MAKING OF NATION'S PRIDE, The Original INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, A Conversation with Rod Taylor and more!

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS is first and foremost a violent, sometimes shockingly so film. Now that that is out of the way, it is also a brilliant piece of filmmaking. Tarantino as a screenwriter has always given theatre goers something to look forward to, always original and always in-your-face. As a director, he does not shy away from making it clear that the worlds he has written about are vivid, and cinematically eye opening (and even jaw dropping).

The cast is stunning from end to end and irreplaceable if anyone gets a wild hair thinking of remaking this in a few years. Everything about this film screams for us to throw away our notions and give into the story Tarantino is trying to tell. He takes thoughts and turns them into film with and ending that makes many feel uncomfortable but yet - not.

Tarantino's film is a must have for any home theatre library and now with 4K Ultra HD you can be sure everything you see will be sharper than ever.

In the end - once upon a time in Nazi occupied France!

Roth Brings a Different Horror with FIN

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming from writer/director Eli Roth and Discovery+ Is the shocking look inside the world of creatures of the oceans with FIN.

Each year there are 100,000,000 sharks (yes, that is the correct number) killed worldwide. This is bringing about an effect throughout the world’s oceans. Writer and director Eli Roth, one of the masters of horror, shares the story of where he has gotten to with the movies he has created, directed and brought to fans.

He admits that his only fear is of sharks thanks to the 1975 film JAWS and let’s face it, that film scared most of us out of the water for a long time. Yet Roth also admits to being equally fascinated by the sharp toothed 'monsters' of the sea. So, it seems only fitting that Roth would take the talk show seat with Shark After Dark during the Discovery Channels annual and highly anticipated Shark Week.

Learning that sharks evolved over 400 million years ago, scientists hail them as 'doctors of the ocean' and that they are necessary for our own survival. In fact, they balance ecosystems in ways that when disrupted, may not be able to be reversed.

Roth has the opportunity to actually get into the water with sharks in the Bahamas. Facing his fears, he came to understand who they really are and their social structure. He also learned that the sharks that are killed is all to provide fin for shark fin soup. Twenty-five species of sharks are dangerously close to extinction because there is nothing stopping it.

This journey is about changing the perception of sharks and to do that, he must dive deeper, if you will, to learn about those that are finning the sharks. Starting in Mexico where fishing shark is legal, and nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to witness for himself.

In Hong Kong, Roth finds himself in the city where fifty percent of the caught shark fin comes in. It comes into the city and makes it way into China. Trying to expose the fin trade, a group called Sea Shephard is trying to find the illegality of the fin trade. Labeling the boxes inconspicuously, customs can only manage one percent of what comes into port.

Using the CITIES treaty, it becomes important to discover the data that shows the possible extinction of a shark species. Shark fin soup became a delicacy of Emperors and then became something to show how wealthy someone is. In fact, what is found is the unsanitary conditions of how shark fins are dried.

Roth finds himself in a restauraunt in Hong Kong that makes the soup and also discovers the truth about what it takes to make it. He discovers an ad campaign that stopped shark fin soup from being served by politicians and banquets. Unfortunately, the demand for the soup spread outside China.

In the United States, the fishing industry also has their hand in it by financing and blocking legislation that would regulate the commercial industry. In 2019, Congress introduced legislation as well where it still waits to be reviewed. To make matters worse, shark-finning is on the rise.

Going through the marketplaces in Hong Kong, Roth discovers that it is quite easy to find dried shark fin, but the shop owners are not pleased at all at his presence. When confronted, an official attempt to compare chicken feet to shark fin. In the conversation also comes the realization that it is more than the fin that is driving the market for sharks.

To get around the illegality of shark finning, the industry began using all parts of the shark in products. Most notably the advertisement of 'sharks don't get cancer' and selling supplements with shark oil in them. Instead, the shocking truth is something quite different and just as terrifying as a great white shark.

The idea is to stop the illegal shark-finning boats first and then work their way up the ladder of the others responsible. Facing the biggest problem is that finding the boats and boarding them is a dangerous undertaking and has already led to deaths. Roth is eager to find a way on board one of these vessels.

In Monrovia, Liberia that is desolated by war, is a prime example of a country that has been ravaged by illegal fishing and suffered for it financially. Sea Shepherd has stepped in to help the country with illegal fishing in their waters. In Robertsport, Liberia, small fisherman were being bullied by large commercial ships and ravaging fishing for the Liberian people.

Finally boarding a ship, Roth is not prepared once again for the shock of it all and keeps asking the question of 'how is this being allowed to happen'. It is explained to him what the oils are used for, and the answer hits close to home. He also learns that the ships are not owned by companies in Liberia but instead from other countries, like Spain.

In New Bedford, Massachusetts, Roth witnesses those who believe they know more than the scientists. It is the scientists who study the dead sharks these non-believers bring in and get the samples needed to study the animal’s life. Now the barbarity of what is happening is brought to the eyes of children.

Roth arrives in the Bahamas to learn that they have become a shark sanctuary. It has become a place to study sharks and swim with them in their environment. They have learned the lessons that Roth believes needs to be the beacon for others to follow.

Discovery is the global leader in real life entertainment, serving passionate fans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers over 8,000 hours of original programming each year across deeply loved content and genres. Available in 220 countries and fifty languages, Discovery reaches viewers on all screens and services including Discovery+. For more information, please visit www.godiscovery.com.

The documentary includes Paul de Gelder, biologist Dr. Reese Halter, Marine Ecologist Boris Worm PhD, activist Regina Domingo, Director of Sea Shephard Asia Gary Stokes, Marine Biologist Dr. Alison Kock, Food Critic Chua Lam, Alex Hofford of Wildaid, Chu Tak Wai of the Guangzhou Shark Fin Association, Liz Merly PhD from the University of Miami, Deputy Defense Minister for Operations Hon. Ernest Vafee, Minister of Defense Maj. Gen. Daniel D. Ziankahn, Jr., Cooperative Union Representative Johnny Weah, Neurosurgeon Dr. Mathew Phillips, Research Biologist Lisa Natanson, PhD from NOAA, Ocean Ramsey who is an activist and diving instructor and activist/photographer Michael Muller.

All of this brings the Oceana and the Leonardo di Caprio Global Fishing Watch (globalfishingwatch.org), have partnered with Google and SkyTruth to launch Global Fishing Watch. This allows fishing boats to be tracked and it will make illegal fishing boats easier to find. It is a good beginning, but the fight continues as the sharks are still being hunted.

We need a healthy ocean and in order to obtain that, the killing of sharks must stop. The documentary makes it very clear that there are three ways to help, and they are amazing steps that we can take together and do our part for these majestic creatures of the sea.

Roth gives us a documentary that is frightening on another level than this horror film maker could have ever imagined yet, it taught me a lot about what has been doing and continues to be done. Awareness means we can no longer pretend that what lies beneath the waves has nothing to do with us – it has everything to do with us.

In the end – check the labels!

THE HOUSE WITH THE CLOCK IN ITS WALLS is Family Fun!

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from director Eli Roth and DreamWorks comes a magical and mystical tale about THE HOUSE WITH THE CLOCK IN ITS WALLS.

Young Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) is still grieving over the loss of his parents when finding himself on a bus to Michigan. There he is met by his Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) who Lewis realizes quickly is quite quirky. Arriving at his new home, he also meets his Uncle’s friend and neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett).

Immediately Uncle Jonathan tries to make Lewis feel at home with an amazing room of his own and free reign with only one rule – in the library is a locked bookcase and it is to be left alone. Lewis begins his first day of school as well finding himself on the outside until Tarby Corrigan (Sunny Suljic) befriends him.

At home, Lewis suspects there is something different about his Uncle’s house and learns why from Mrs. Zimmerman. Isaac Izard (Kyle MacLachlan) was once a magical partner with Uncle Jonathan but after coming home from war – he returned a very changed man. Marrying Selena (Renee Goldsberry), the two created a clock that will count down to doomsday.

Lewis notices that Tarby isn’t as friendly anymore and tries to find a way to keep their friendship. Inviting him back to Uncle Jonathan’s, Tarby sees the cabinet and even with Lewis begging him to not open it, what happens next is even worse. The boys take the book to the local cemetery and Lewis tries to wow Tarby with what he can do.

Instead, Lewis releases something that is part of the strange happenings around Uncle Jonathan’s house. As the walls tick, Lewis, Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman must use all their powers to locate the clock before evil does!

Black as Jonathan Barnavelt is quirky, funny, strange, animated and everything we have come to know expect from him. This is definitely the type of character he is not only good at portraying but makes it fun. Black was in last years film JUMANJI: Welcome to the Jungle and we can expect to see him again next year for a sequel.

Blanchett as Mrs. Zimmerman is just stunning to look at in her beautiful costuming and equally as stellar to watch. What I have come to love most about her performances is that she always has a look in her eye that says, “I know something you don’t”. In this film she bounces off Jack Black’s character in a game of table tennis that is just pure enjoyable to watch.

Vaccaro as Lewis is a young man trying to find his place after losing his parents. Being reserved, he is definetly different than his Uncle Jonathan. The thing is that although they may be different to begin with, they also discover that they are not so different after all. His performance is that of a young boy trying to fit in only to discover that being himself can be quite enjoyable. Suljic as Corrigan is a boy who uses a sad young man and when done – throws him back to the wolves. The thing is – the Lewis wolf came back leader of the pack!

MacLachlan as Izard is so much fun to watch, mainly because I am a fan of MacLachlan no matter what he does. Here he gets the chance to have a little fun while being a little maniacal at the same time and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Goldsberry as Selena stands by her man, even when he’s a tad gooey and I give her props for that.

Other cast include Colleen Camp as Mrs. Hanchett, Lorenza Izzo as Mom, Braxton Bierken as Woody, De’Jon Watts as Clark, Christian Calloway as Azazel and Vanessa Anne Williams as Rose.

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS is definetly a family fun film. Of course I’m not sure I’d recommend it for smaller children as there are a few creature that might scare them so lets say six years plus to be on the safe side. There are jumps and spooky elements mixed in a story line of family and new friendships.

The special effects are amazing and I want to know where I can find a cute chair like the one in Uncle Jonathan’s house. Every effect has it’s place and is done so colorfully well that I was captivated through the entire film. I wouldn’t even mind having a lion topiary!

It is the cast of Black, Blanchett and Vacarro that make the film with the added dash of MacLachlan. They play off each other with comedy and affection which is what can be the cherry on the cake of any film.

In the end – this house knows what makes you tick!

This Doctor Brings a DEATH WISH to Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray/DVD and VOD from director Eli Roth, MGM and Fox Home Entertainment is a man with a DEATH WISH.

Dr. Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) is a respected physician with a good life supported by wife Lucy (Elisabeth Shue), college bound daughter Jordan (Camila Morrone) and brother Frank (Vincent D’Onofrio). Saving lives by day he is about to celebrate Jordan’s acceptance to college and a birthday.

Preparing for a night out of celebrating, Kersey is called to the hospital for an emergency. Still wanting to celebrate, Lucy and Jordan return home with the goodies to make a cake. Lucy becomes alarmed realizing that there is someone in the house and while trying to get out with Jordan, they are confronted by the burglars.

Giving them what they want isn’t enough as things go horribly wrong. Kersey is called into the ER to discover his family has been attacked. Police Det. Kevin Raines (Dean Norris) and Det. Lenore Jackson (Kimberly Elise) are on the case and swear they will get the criminals responsible.

Kersey isn’t happy with that as time goes by and they still aren’t apprehended. Haunted by what has happened to his family, he begins a journey into being a vigilante that the public dubs ‘The Grim Reaper’. That is until he comes face to face with the man responsible for it all and will not be broken again!

Willis as Dr. Kersey is a trusted doctor and clearly loves his family. Believing he has played life by the right rules, his thought process changes when his family is attacked. It goes even further when he is attacked for trying to help someone which flips the switch for The Grim Reaper to be created. His goal may be to make those who hurt his family pay but Willis gives Kersey a creepier feel with his low-key, frozen emotion performance. Willis has still got the stuff. He scared me more than the criminals!

D’Onofrio as brother Frank is beloved by the family, even if he hits his brother’s wallet on occasion. Worried about his brother and family, D’Onofrio turns on the protective mode. Shue as Lucy is lovely and charming and I’m thrilled anytime she appears on the screen.

Morrone as Jordan is fighting for her life and that’s what keeps Kersey going. Norris as Raines along with Elise as Jackson are trying to find the criminals but this Grim Reaper keeps getting in their way.

Other cast include: Beau Knapp as Knox, Len Carious as Ben, Jack Kesy as The Fish, Ronnie Blevins as Joe, Kirby Blanton as Bethany and Wendy Crewson as Dr. Jill Klavens.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

The Bluray includes the Special Features of Commentary with Eli Roth and Roger Birnbaum, Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary with Eli Roth and Roger Birnbaum, Mancow Morning Show Extended Scenes, Sway in the Morning Extended Scene, Vengeance and Vision: Directing Death Wish and Grindhouse Trailer.

DEATH WISH is actually based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Brian Garfield. It was followed in 1975 by a sequel Death Sentence which DEATH WISH II used elements of the story.

From 1974 until 1987, Charles Bronson brought us the DEATH WISH series of films. He was quiet, raw and extremely dangerous. Now, in 2018, Willis once again gives us the quiet, raw and extremely dangerous Dr. Kersey.

Willis has given fans so many dimensions to the roles he has played. It is clear that comedy started out as his forte but the big screen quickly learned that he has a powerful dramatic side. Oh let us not forget that he can always use that voice to lull us all into a false sense of security before lowering the boom aka THE SIXTH SENSE and SIN CITY.

This is a story of family, madness, acts of a vigilante and fear one man’s acts have on a city. It all starts with a good man living an average life until not-so-good men turn his life upside down. The film brings about a duality in understanding his anger but not condoning his actions. DEATH WISH is definitely a conversation worth having.

In the end – how far would you go to protect your family?