THE DEAD DON'T DIE Puts a Town on Notice

THE DEAD DON'T DIE Puts a Town on Notice

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from writer/director Jim Jarmusch and Focus Features comes a tale of small town living and the Earth with THE DEAD DON'T DIE.

Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) are the law of small town Centerville. Along with Officer Minerva Morrison (Chloe Sevigny), their day starts out with a check on Hermit Bob (Tom Waits) and a complaint by Farmer Miller (Steve Buscemi) about chickens.

On their trip back to the station, Chief Robertson has a feeling something isn't quite right. Noticing that it is later in the day, it doesn't look like the sun is going down. Then weird things begin to happen with watches and cell phones. That's when Officer Peterson makes the ominous prediction that 'this isn't going to end well'.

There answer comes fairly quickly when news reports about fracking has finally done damage to the Earth. Back at the station, the three officers decide what should be done. Of course someone has to stay at the station since there is a corpse in one of the cells!

 At the local coffee shop, the local gossip is about Zelda Winston (Tilda Swinton), who owns the funeral home. Everyone realizes there is something odd about her but it goes unchecked. Waitresses Fern (Ester Baling) and Lily (Rosa Colon) are deep in talk when they are met by…well…hungry customers.

Bobby (Caleb Landry Jones) owns the local comic book shop and sundries when he is visited by Zoe (Selena Gomez), Jack (Austin Butler) and Zack (Luke Sabbath). Everyone comments on the Sturdily Simpson song "The Dead Don't Die" and ask for directions to a local hotel. 

All this while the Chief and Officer Ronnie are back at the diner wonder what to do about what they find. Hardware store owner Hank (Danny Glover) is in shock but also notices things aren't right in Centerville. 

Almost immediately it becomes clear that what is happening to the Earth has had an impact on those supposedly resting in peace at the local cemetery. The Chief and Ronnie begin to fight back, especially with Ronnie's zombie knowledge.

Their small little town has one huge dead problem!

Murray as Chief Robertson is about as laid back as I would expect a small town lawman to be and exactly how I'd expect Bill Murray as a small town lawman to be! He takes things in and process it with a touch of disbelief as to what's happening in his quaint community. Plus, and it must be said, anything Murray does will bring me to wherever he is in. The fact is Murray is an icon and a national treasure because he is…Bill Murray.

Okay, so I grew up watching him on Saturday Night Live in the days when comedy was hilarious and he provided much of that. He has made his way through comedy roles that just keep him relevant to all of us that love funny. Here he is seasoned but when he lands a line - it's as smooth as ever.

Driver as Officer Ronnie is the side-kick that Chief Robertson needed to pull this whole thing off. It is interesting to see Driver do the give and take with Murray and it works to perfection making them such a unique and weirdly perfect team. If I were the Chief I might not have had the same patience but then again, the last ten minutes make it all worth it. Driver plays a man who is relatively calm. He feels that disaster is heading to town and loads up to protect and serve.

Sevigny as Officer Minerva is, well, emotional in her own way and in the context of the rest of the characters in the film. She is the third wheel of law enforcement but between wanting to hide in the back seat of the squad car and knowing something has to be done, she jumps back and forth with ease.

Buscemi as Farmer Miller is grumpy, loaded and hostile about his chickens. Glover as Hank melts right into the township of people who are a little confused by what's going on and know hiding might be the way to survive. Jones as Bobby looks like he absolutely would own a comic book shop in the middle of Centerville and knows exactly what to do because of it.

The two odd and perfectly placed standouts of the film are Swinton as Zelda and I must say she is a woman I'd hang out with. Odd and out of place without realizing it, she has a part to play in all of this but then again does she? Waits as Hermit Bob is the man telling the tale of Centerville and might be the smartest Hermit ever.

Other cast include Rosie Perez as Posie Juarez, RZA as Dean, Alyssa App as Kid Zombie, Lorenzo Beronilla as Zelda Zombie, Sara Driver as Coffee Zombie, Carol Kane as Mallory O'Brien and Iggy Pop as the best Coffee Zombie ever!!

THE DEAD DON'T DIE isn't your typical zombie movie for so many reasons that I'll let the viewer find out personally. What I can say is that I felt like I was watching a combination of a Film Festival piece and a Saturday Night Creature Feature film that was from the B-film vaults.

It is absolutely everything and absolutely nothing like any zombie movie you've ever seen. This film calls for those who love twisted films that are dry in humor yet still hilarious. It's a journey through small town living with zombies as more of a pest than a reason to get all worked up.

This film has references from old horror films, a nod and feel of Romero and acting that is subdued and thoughtful wrapped up like bacon around a superb piece of filet mignon. The subtexts are there and its up to the viewer to catch them and it seems everyone in Hollywood wanted a piece of the film.

Of course I'm being vague in the telling on purpose because there is no right way to explain the film. This is one of those stories that must be experienced and with all honesty some will find it as hilarious as I did and some will walk away with that expression of 'what did I just see?' on their faces.

This is Jim Jarmusch people! Writer and director of ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (which is a beautiful vampire movie), BROKEN FLOWERS and the documentary GIMME DANGER. He has the ability to bring out the odd in his story telling but truth be known, some of us actually enjoy the odd.

The cast is varied and gives the town a little something special. Lets not forget the humor that is sharp, a bit biting at moments, very subtle in other moments which means there is something for everyone even if they don't know they need it. 

THE DEAD DON'T DIE has me scratching my head, furrowing my brow in question, jaw dropping in action and most of all giggling like a little kid who feels like she got the joke no one else did. Who cares, I had a fun time.

In the end - this could be the greatest zombie cast ever disassembled!

It's the Return of The Dude in THE BIG LEBOWSKI 20th Anniversary Limited Edition

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K HD and Bluray from writers/directors/producers Joel and Ethan Coen along with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is the film that has become an iconic classic with THE BIG LEBOWSKI 20^th Anniversary Limited Edition.

The Dude (Jeff Bridges) is a laid back Los Angelino who remains in a chilled state of mind, that is until one night when two thugs breaks into his home and rough him up. Looking for a Jeff Lebowski, The Dude lays out the reasoning that there is another Jeff Lebowski who happens to be very rich and obviously they have made a mistake. Realizing their mistake, the one thing the two thugs can't take back is a pee'd on carpet.

Upset with what happened, The Dude explains to bowling buddies Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Buscemi) and how he really liked that rug. Walter has an idea, go see the rich Jeff Lebowski and get some kind of restitution! That's exactly what he does and meets the very cranky Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston) who says that it's not his problem.

The Dude isn't about to walk away empty handed when he tells Lebowski's assistant Brandt (Philip Seymour Hoffman) that he has permission to take any carpet in the house. On the way out, The Dude meets Lebowski's wife Bunny (Tara Reid) who is responsible for the attack because she owes loan sharks. Her greeting to The Dude is nothing short of money based and a proposition for which he walks away amused.

Happy with his new carpet, The Dude is surprised a few days later to receive a telephone call from Brandt with a financial offer. Bunny has been kidnapped with a demand for a million dollars and rich Lebowski wants to use poor Lebowski to drop off the ransom and get a bit of money for his trouble. Given a case and a cell phone, he is to wait for a call telling him where to drop off the money but Walter feels the need to be with his friend when it happens.

On the drive, Walter also comes up with his own plan. He believes Bunny has concocted this whole thing for the money so why don't they just keep the money for themselves. Throwing a case off a local bridge, the two men see the kidnappers take the ransom and run. Later talking it over at the bowling alley, they discover that The Dude's car is gone and so are their riches.

The Dude is contacted by Lebowski's daughter Maude (Julianne Moore) who explains that her father's wife is a porn star and that she also thinks Bunny is faking all of it. Upset that the ransom came out of the family's foundation, she asks The Dude to get it all back. If that isn't wacky enough, now Lebowski is mad that The Dude screwed up the drop and men with German accents invade his bath saying they are the real kidnappers.

The cops find The Dude's car but the cash is gone and the pee thugs take him to see porn maker Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara) who wants the money to cover money Bunny owes him! After a drugging, cops and being thrown out of a car - who should drive by in a red sports car? Bunny. So what gives? Well, that's what you will have to discover for yourself because, truth be told, you have to see it to believe it.

Yet, The Dude will abide!

Bridges as The Dude is absolutely and without a doubt pure perfection. He is a laid back human being who just lives in the moment and doesn't want anything that will mess with his calm. Bridges just embraces every second of this and makes it look completely easy and smooth. I suppose it doesn't hurt that he gets to be very comfortable in every stitch of clothing and appearance which might make being The Dude more of a joy than a job.

This character is completely endearing and just wants his carpet and that basically leads to the chaos that follows.

The moral of the story might be that bare floors are less of a hassle.

Goodman as Walter is the complete opposite of The Dude. He isn't about to let anyone or anything challenge his way of dealing with things yet he sees nothing wrong with his solutions. The Dude truly cares about his friend but there are moments where his calm-rage is absolutely frightening. This is such an amazing role for Goodman because he gets to be as out there as he wants to be and it fits him well. Buscemi as Donny is such a loveable character who just wants to be in on everything but doesn't have the ability to really keep up. This is probably the most endearing role I've seen Buscemi perform and he just proves he has always had the wide range ability but has gotten himself stuck in toughened roles. I'd like to have seen more of this type from him.

Moore as Maude is just as creepy as she can possibly be. She is clearly a control freak and will do anything to keep things moving the way she wants them to move. The way she handles The Dude is emotional strong arming to my way of thinking and her seduction manner leaves allot to be desired - but hilarious. Huddleston as the elder and richer Lebowski believes he is better than his poorer counterpart and believes he is justified in using the loser. He has The Dude jumping through hoops and doesn't exactly count on him to figure anything.

Hoffman as Brandt is, what I called, the Lebowski-bitch in that he is perfectly happy serving his boss and putting The Dude in one hell of a mess. Hoffman has always managed to stun me with every role he does and it is fantastic to revisit a film that gave us all a glimpse into what he became capable of on screen. Reid as Bunny plays the role of a trophy wife who wants more and more of the almighty dollar and doesn't seem ashamed to make that known to, well, anyone.

Other cast include David Thewlis as Know Harrington, John Turturro as Jesus Quintana, Jon Polito as Da Fino, Peter Stormare as Uli, Torsten Voges as Franz and Flea as Kieffer, Jimmie Gilmore as Smokey, Jack Kehler as Marty and Sam Elliott as The Stranger.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us all to experience and re-experience in our own home theatres. 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.

The Ultra HD Combo Pack of THE BIG LEBOWSKI 20^th Anniversary Limited Edition includes The Dude’s Life - , The Dude Abides: The Big Lebowski Ten Years Later, Making of THE BIG LEBOWSKI, The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever’s Story, Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of The Dude, Interactive Map, Jeff Bridges Photo Book, Photo Gallery and so much more!

On 4K Ultra HD included in the combo pack of Bluray, Digital and Movies Anywhere brings a sharper pictures delivering a multi dimensional experience, Bluray that has exclusive extras and theatre quality surround sound, Digital allowing viewing just about anywhere and Movies Anywhere with the app that keeps your films stored for viewing anytime!

THE BIG LEBOWSKI has become such an iconic film that has brought some of the coolest lines to ever be uttered. Of course The Dude also has made its way into costumes for parties and Halloween with a simple robe and slippers being totally recognizable.

The film is hilarious, crafty, absurd, twisted, rich vs. poor, dysfunctional family and unusual friendships all rolled into a story that is so far fetched it might even be believable.

Now, THE BIG LEBOWSKI is back to entertain us once again but this time in our own homes. The most amazing thing about this film is that it is just as hilarious today as it was 20 years ago and open to a new generation that can appreciate its comedy, originality and fantastic ensemble cast.

In the end - he'd rather be bowling!

 

Bring all Your Monsters to See HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: Summer Vacation

Jeri Jacquin

In theatres this week from director Genndy Tartakovsky and Sony Pictures Animation is a return to visit one of our favorite monster family’s at HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: Summer Vacation.

The hotel is busier than ever as Dracula (Adam Sandler) and daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) miss spending family time together. Son-in-law Johnny (Andy Samberg) thinks Mavis’ idea of a family vacation is fantastic and along with son Dennis (Asher Blinkoff) pack immediately.

Mavis has booked passage on a monster cruise and invites the extended family with Frank (Kevin James), Eunice (Fran Drescher), Wayne (Steve Buscemi), Wanda (Molly Shannon) and their brood, Griffin (David Spade), Murray (Keegan-Michael Key) and Grandpa Vlad (Mel Brooks).

At first Dracula isn’t thrilled about the idea but when Mavis implores him to use the time for family, he can’t exactly turn her down. Captain Ericka (Kathryn Hahn) welcomes everyone aboard and promises them a fantastic vacation. Seeing all the ship has to offer, the gang is excited. Even Dracula changes his tune when he sees Erika because the one thing he thought would never happen is happening – zinging!

Worried how Mavis will react, he keeps his feelings under his proverbial cape. What he doesn’t know and that’s who is hiding below deck, what plans are taking shape and more importantly – who is Bob?

All of this and more will be answered because after all – they are family!

Sandler as Dracula once again puts on the cape to run the hotel and spending time being a good Dad and Grandpa. Wanting to spend more family time, the monster cruise is certainly something different. It’s good to see Sandler keep his character goofy and loveable even for a vampire.

Gomez as Mavis wants to spend quality time with the family having fun. Having her father ‘zing’ certainly isn’t on her itinerary. It doesn’t help that her suspicions about the ships captain are accurate but everyone deserves a second chance.

Hahn as Captain Erika is nimble, fun and very sneaky. She has her eye on Dracula but zinging isn’t why! Erika’s story of hereditary, history and revenge but she also hasn’t met anyone like Dracula.

Frank, Eunice, Wayne, Wanda, Griffin, Murray all return because this wouldn’t be HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA without them. They bring fun, charm and a gentle reminder that extended family hold an important place in our lives. This bunch is so loveable that I was “awing” every five minutes. This is a monster family that started it all and continues to keep us together.

Shout out to Mel Brooks as Grandpa Vlad for bringing the jokes and fun on deck. Of course any time Mel Brooks shows up to a party it’s going to be awesome!

Other cast include Chris Parnell as Stan, Joe Jonas as The Kraken, Chrissy Teigen as Crystal, Aaron LaPlante as the Gremlin, Genndy Tartakovsky as Blobby, Sandie Sandler as Winnie, Sunny Sandler as Sunny, Tara Strong as Frankenlady, Libby Dickey as Lucy, and Joe Whyte as Tinkles.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: Summer Vacation makes the difficult look easy in that the story is fresh and fun while leaving us the characters our own family’s have come to love. The comedy is there, family issues about our busy lives and, of course, how love shows up at the most unexpected time and place – no matter if your one or one thousand years old.

It is so easy to forget these are ‘monsters’ when there situations are not so different than our own. Another reason this series of films has and continues to be embraced by family film goers. It’s a film we can take our kids to see while still being kids ourselves.

So pack up your own brood and prepare them all for popcorn, fun and loads of giggles. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: Summer Vacation is everything and so much more.

In the end – family vacations can suck the life out of you! 

The Stork Brings BOSS BABY to Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming this week on Bluray, DVD and Digital HD Combo Pack from director Tim McGrath, DreamWorks and 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the arrival of the new boss in town with BOSS BABY.

Tim Templeton (Miles Bakshi) is a creative young man who has the best time with his parents. Encouraging his imagination for fun, Mom (Lisa Kudrow) and Dad (Jimmy Kimmel) always take time from their busy jobs at Puppy Co. working for Francis Francis (Steve Buscemi) to celebrate being a family.

His life is about to change with the arrival of Boss Baby (Alec Baldwin) introduced as his new baby brother. Boss Baby is a well dressed brief case carrying kid who immediately takes over the house with his demands. Tim feels like he is being put on the back burner with Mom and Dad deciding to do something about it.

Doing his own recon, Tim soon discovers that Boss Baby can talk! Wanting to immediately tell Mom and Dad, Boss Baby tells Tim that there is a way to put everything back the way it was. Explaining he comes from BabyCorp, he tells of a plot to put babies out of business by Puppy Co. who is creating a puppy that stays a puppy forever and Boss Baby needs to stop it.

Tim is on board, especially if it means his life will go back to normal, and the brothers only have two days to stop the madness. A lot can happen in two days between brothers!

Who else could be the voice of Boss Baby but Alec Baldwin! He is hilarious and smooth at the same time with some of the best lines ever. I couldn’t stop giggling with his vocal performance mixed with amazing animation. Bakshi doing the vocals for Tim is a young man who just didn’t expect a baby brother and certainly didn’t expect to go on an adventure that would last a lifetime.

Buscemi as Francis Francis is on a crime spree with a bigger connection that Boss Baby could have imagined. Kudrow as Mom clearly wants her two boys to bond and Kimmel as Dad is also pleased when his sons seem to be having fun together.

Other cast include James McGrath as Wizzie, Conrad Vernon as Eugene, ViviAnn Yee as Staci, Eric Bell Jr. as Triplets, David Soren as Jimbo, Edie Mirman as Big Boss Baby and narrated by Tobey Maguire.

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.

DreamWorks Animation brings amazing animated entertainment to films, television specials and series for the young and young at heart audiences around the world. DreamWorks Animations has brought iconic and beloved films such as the SHREK, MADAGASCAR, KUNG FU PANDA and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. For more of what they have to offer please visit http://www.dreamworksanimation.com.

BOSS BABY Bluray/DVD and Digital HD include the Special Features of New Mini Adventure: The Boss Baby and Tim’s Treasure Hunt Through Time, The Forever Puppy Infomercial, BabyCorp and You, and Babies vs. Puppies: Who Do YOU Love?

Also included is The Boss Baby’s Undercover Team, Cookies Are For Closers: Inside BabyCorp, The Great Sibling Competition, Happy Accidents: The Deleted Scenes of THE BOSS BABY and Gallery.

BOSS BABY is a charming film that is also hilarious which means there is something for everyone. It is definitely a story about family and the expectations we place on each other but it all works out when love is in the mix. I would expect nothing less from DreamWorks where that is concerned.

The story of BabyCorp really did have me laughing and the deep secret behind Puppy Co. was a total and fun surprise. That’s hard to do with an animated film but BOSS BABY gives it all wrapped up in a really good time that can be watched again and again.

The animation is lively, colorful and absolutely fun from start to finish. What makes the combo pack so much fun is that if you didn’t get enough of BOSS BABY, there are new adventures to be had which means more family fun time.

In the end – Boss Baby means business!