The success of any horror-comedy can be measured by the number of laughs and screams it elicits. If it coaxes them simultaneously, so much the better.
By that measure, “Cocaine Bear” is a bloody marvel, an extrapolation of a one-line “weird news” story — bear dies by stuffing itself with cocaine tossed from a smuggler’s plane — into a brilliant comedy of errors and terrors.
Cocaine itself has, of course, been responsible for the creation of countless terrible screenplays, but as an inciting incident, mixed with the jaws-and-claws of a fearsome black bear, it provides a distinguished ensemble the opportunity to be (depending on the character) brave, cowardly, heroic, venal, crafty, panicky or, ultimately, dinner.
Also Read:
‘Cocaine Bear’ Eats Drugs and Kills People in New Trailer (Video)
It’s 1985, and a drug smuggler (Matthew Rhys) tosses duffel after duffel packed with cocaine onto the Blood Mountain region of Georgia’s...
By that measure, “Cocaine Bear” is a bloody marvel, an extrapolation of a one-line “weird news” story — bear dies by stuffing itself with cocaine tossed from a smuggler’s plane — into a brilliant comedy of errors and terrors.
Cocaine itself has, of course, been responsible for the creation of countless terrible screenplays, but as an inciting incident, mixed with the jaws-and-claws of a fearsome black bear, it provides a distinguished ensemble the opportunity to be (depending on the character) brave, cowardly, heroic, venal, crafty, panicky or, ultimately, dinner.
Also Read:
‘Cocaine Bear’ Eats Drugs and Kills People in New Trailer (Video)
It’s 1985, and a drug smuggler (Matthew Rhys) tosses duffel after duffel packed with cocaine onto the Blood Mountain region of Georgia’s...
- 2/23/2023
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Beware Of Spoilers In This Article And Video About Season 1.
Even “The Afterparty” creator Christopher Miller expresses surprise at how quickly devoted fans of the Apple TV+ comedy murder mystery were able to unearth some of the clues and puzzles embedded deep within the show.
“There’s a group of folks on Reddit that got really into all the hidden coded messages and puzzles and ciphers that were nested into the show,” Miller tells Gold Derby during a special “Making of” roundtable discussion about the process behind “The Afterparty.” “Because it was a real pain in the butt doing some of these.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
Case in point: In the show’s euphoric third episode, titled “Yasper” after the character played by Ben Schwartz, a quick shot of a T-shirt led to a complicated cipher that when decoded ruled out Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) as a suspect...
Even “The Afterparty” creator Christopher Miller expresses surprise at how quickly devoted fans of the Apple TV+ comedy murder mystery were able to unearth some of the clues and puzzles embedded deep within the show.
“There’s a group of folks on Reddit that got really into all the hidden coded messages and puzzles and ciphers that were nested into the show,” Miller tells Gold Derby during a special “Making of” roundtable discussion about the process behind “The Afterparty.” “Because it was a real pain in the butt doing some of these.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
Case in point: In the show’s euphoric third episode, titled “Yasper” after the character played by Ben Schwartz, a quick shot of a T-shirt led to a complicated cipher that when decoded ruled out Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) as a suspect...
- 6/13/2022
- by Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
There’s something about a buddy movie that is always entertaining. The mismatched pair of personalities, thrown together under stressful circumstances, has been the go-to premise of action movies and comedies for a very long time. Writer Shane Black was one of the pioneers of this plot device – delivering the polished, classic screenplay of Lethal Weapon in 1987, which launched a decade-long franchise. Now, after making his move into directing, with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3, Black is returning to his beloved buddy trope, with The Nice Guys – for which we now have a full-length trailer.
The mismatched buddies in this case are Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe – which might just be excellent casting. The type of comedy showcased in this trailer is exactly where Gosling shines brightest, and it is deeply refreshing to see Russell Crowe indulging a lighter side, while playing with his ‘tough guy’ persona a little.
The mismatched buddies in this case are Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe – which might just be excellent casting. The type of comedy showcased in this trailer is exactly where Gosling shines brightest, and it is deeply refreshing to see Russell Crowe indulging a lighter side, while playing with his ‘tough guy’ persona a little.
- 3/23/2016
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released its annual list of invited new members, and it’s clear they’re continuing to try to make their membership younger. On the list alongside veterans like John Hawkes and David Duchovny are a slew of twentysomethings, including Mia Wasikowska, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Mila Kunis, Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Lawrence, and Rooney Mara. The Board of Governors also decided to extend an invitation to Restrepo codirector Tim Hetherington, the first time Academy membership has been bestowed posthumously. As a side note, it’s also a hoot to now say the phrase Oscar voter Russell Brand.
- 6/17/2011
- by Dave Karger
- EW - Inside Movies
Beverly Hills, CA . The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 178 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2011 to the Academy.s roster of members.
.These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,. said Academy President Tom Sherak. .Their talent and creativity have entertained moviegoers around the world, and I welcome each of them to our ranks..
The Academy.s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 211 new members in 2011, but as in other recent years, several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since 2003.
In an unprecedented gesture, the list of new members includes documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington, who was killed in action in Libya in April.
.These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,. said Academy President Tom Sherak. .Their talent and creativity have entertained moviegoers around the world, and I welcome each of them to our ranks..
The Academy.s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 211 new members in 2011, but as in other recent years, several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since 2003.
In an unprecedented gesture, the list of new members includes documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington, who was killed in action in Libya in April.
- 6/17/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
HollywoodNews.com: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 178 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2011 to the Academy’s roster of members.
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “Their talent and creativity have entertained moviegoers around the world, and I welcome each of them to our ranks.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 211 new members in 2011, but as in other recent years, several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since 2003.
In an unprecedented gesture, the list of new members includes documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington, who was killed in action in Libya in April.
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “Their talent and creativity have entertained moviegoers around the world, and I welcome each of them to our ranks.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 211 new members in 2011, but as in other recent years, several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since 2003.
In an unprecedented gesture, the list of new members includes documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington, who was killed in action in Libya in April.
- 6/17/2011
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
Hollywood has always loved tales of redemption -- the poor, downtrodden or otherwise disenfranchised finding their true value with the help of an inspirational mentor. Sometimes the formula works. Unfortunately in "Gridiron Gang", Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is about as inspirational as a yawn.
A true story, based on an award-winning documentary, about Inner City kids in juvenile detention who come together to forge a winning football team, is great material, but the film never catches fire. With rabid interest in the new football season and a major marketing blitz by Sony, the film could score a few early touchdowns in its first weekend but should tail off quickly after that.
Johnson plays Sean Porter, a dedicated probation officer at Camp Kilpatrick, the last stop for teenage gang members and violent offenders before the state locks them up with adults.
Frustrated by the frequency with which the kids return to the camp after being released, he imagines that by creating a football team he can instill discipline and a sense of self-worth in his charges. In other words, he's a man on a mission, and he's got plenty of work to do.
First, he must get the institution to go along with his plan. That means convincing reluctant camp director Paul Higa (Leon Rippy) and his assistant Dexter (Kevin Dunn) that it can work, and then finding other high school coaches willing to compete against convicted felons.
Then he has to put the team together. These kids, most of them from the Los Angles area, and many from rival gangs, already live in an environment of distrust and hatred.
His main reclamation project is Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker), a surly youth who killed his mother's boyfriend after losing his cousin in a drive-by shooting. Then there's his gang nemesis Kelvin (David Thomas), the angry Samoan Junior Palaita (Setu Taase), the team's water boy and mascot Bug (Brandon Mychal Smith) and the white but-not-too-trashy Kenny Bates (Trever O'Brien). In this sanitized version of street life, none of them are really bad kids, they just made bad choices.
Porter peppers them with uplifting messages about grit and determination and not being losers anymore. And -- surprise, surprise -- after numerous hardships and disappointments, the Mustangs, as they are called, become a self-respecting team that wins enough games to make it to the regional championship.
Director Phil Joanou, making his first feature in seven years, does a nice job giving the film a gritty, lived-in quality (much of the picture was shot at the real Camp Kilpatrick in the Santa Monica Mountains), and the football sequences, coached by Alan Graf, look and sound like The Real Thing. But screenwriter Jeff Maguire hasn't given them enough to work with.
The characters all have back stories -- Porter's mother is dying and he hates his father; Weathers is trying to go straight and win back his girlfriend; Junior longs to be reunited with his 2-year-old -- but not the depth to make them seem like anything more than types.
At an unbelievable 126 minutes, the film is bloated with story; too many things happen, mostly setbacks, to allow the movie to gather any momentum and soar, as this kind of picture must do to succeed. But Johnson is the real problem because the film is built around him. He is the latest in a long line of muscular hunks who don't so much emote as deliver lines. But in fairness, it is not easy to sell dialogue like, "accept this challenge and I promise you, you'll be winners."
Lensing by Jeff Cutter, production design by Floyd Albee, editing by Joel Negron and other tech credits are good enough to draw you into the film; unfortunately, there's nothing to keep you there.
GRIDIRON GANG
Sony Pictures
Columbia Pictures presents in association with Relativity Media an Original Film production
Credits:
Director: Phil Joanou
Screenwriter: Jeff Maguire
Executive producers: Michael Rachmil, Shane Stanley, Ryan Kavanaugh, Lynwood
Spinks
Producers: Neal H. Moritz, Lee Stanley
Director of photography: Jeff Cutter
Production designer: Floyd Albee
Music: Trevor Rabin
Co-producer: Amanda Cohen
Costume designer: Sanja Milkovic Hays
Editor: Joel Negron. Cast: Coach Sean Porter: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Malcolm Moore: Xzibit
Ted Dexter: Kevin Dunn
Paul Higa: Leon Rippy
Willie Weathers: Jade Yorker
Kenny Bates: Trever O'Brien
Bug: Brandon Mychal Smith
Leon Hayes: Mo
Kelvin Owens: David Thomas
Junior Palaita: Setu Taase
Donald Madlock: James Earl III
Jamal Evans: Jamal Mixon
Danyelle Rollins: Jurnee Smollett
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 126 minutes...
A true story, based on an award-winning documentary, about Inner City kids in juvenile detention who come together to forge a winning football team, is great material, but the film never catches fire. With rabid interest in the new football season and a major marketing blitz by Sony, the film could score a few early touchdowns in its first weekend but should tail off quickly after that.
Johnson plays Sean Porter, a dedicated probation officer at Camp Kilpatrick, the last stop for teenage gang members and violent offenders before the state locks them up with adults.
Frustrated by the frequency with which the kids return to the camp after being released, he imagines that by creating a football team he can instill discipline and a sense of self-worth in his charges. In other words, he's a man on a mission, and he's got plenty of work to do.
First, he must get the institution to go along with his plan. That means convincing reluctant camp director Paul Higa (Leon Rippy) and his assistant Dexter (Kevin Dunn) that it can work, and then finding other high school coaches willing to compete against convicted felons.
Then he has to put the team together. These kids, most of them from the Los Angles area, and many from rival gangs, already live in an environment of distrust and hatred.
His main reclamation project is Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker), a surly youth who killed his mother's boyfriend after losing his cousin in a drive-by shooting. Then there's his gang nemesis Kelvin (David Thomas), the angry Samoan Junior Palaita (Setu Taase), the team's water boy and mascot Bug (Brandon Mychal Smith) and the white but-not-too-trashy Kenny Bates (Trever O'Brien). In this sanitized version of street life, none of them are really bad kids, they just made bad choices.
Porter peppers them with uplifting messages about grit and determination and not being losers anymore. And -- surprise, surprise -- after numerous hardships and disappointments, the Mustangs, as they are called, become a self-respecting team that wins enough games to make it to the regional championship.
Director Phil Joanou, making his first feature in seven years, does a nice job giving the film a gritty, lived-in quality (much of the picture was shot at the real Camp Kilpatrick in the Santa Monica Mountains), and the football sequences, coached by Alan Graf, look and sound like The Real Thing. But screenwriter Jeff Maguire hasn't given them enough to work with.
The characters all have back stories -- Porter's mother is dying and he hates his father; Weathers is trying to go straight and win back his girlfriend; Junior longs to be reunited with his 2-year-old -- but not the depth to make them seem like anything more than types.
At an unbelievable 126 minutes, the film is bloated with story; too many things happen, mostly setbacks, to allow the movie to gather any momentum and soar, as this kind of picture must do to succeed. But Johnson is the real problem because the film is built around him. He is the latest in a long line of muscular hunks who don't so much emote as deliver lines. But in fairness, it is not easy to sell dialogue like, "accept this challenge and I promise you, you'll be winners."
Lensing by Jeff Cutter, production design by Floyd Albee, editing by Joel Negron and other tech credits are good enough to draw you into the film; unfortunately, there's nothing to keep you there.
GRIDIRON GANG
Sony Pictures
Columbia Pictures presents in association with Relativity Media an Original Film production
Credits:
Director: Phil Joanou
Screenwriter: Jeff Maguire
Executive producers: Michael Rachmil, Shane Stanley, Ryan Kavanaugh, Lynwood
Spinks
Producers: Neal H. Moritz, Lee Stanley
Director of photography: Jeff Cutter
Production designer: Floyd Albee
Music: Trevor Rabin
Co-producer: Amanda Cohen
Costume designer: Sanja Milkovic Hays
Editor: Joel Negron. Cast: Coach Sean Porter: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Malcolm Moore: Xzibit
Ted Dexter: Kevin Dunn
Paul Higa: Leon Rippy
Willie Weathers: Jade Yorker
Kenny Bates: Trever O'Brien
Bug: Brandon Mychal Smith
Leon Hayes: Mo
Kelvin Owens: David Thomas
Junior Palaita: Setu Taase
Donald Madlock: James Earl III
Jamal Evans: Jamal Mixon
Danyelle Rollins: Jurnee Smollett
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 126 minutes...
- 9/16/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hollywood has always loved tales of redemption -- the poor, downtrodden or otherwise disenfranchised finding their true value with the help of an inspirational mentor. Sometimes the formula works. Unfortunately in Gridiron Gang, Dwayne The Rock Johnson is about as inspirational as a yawn.
A true story, based on an award-winning documentary, about inner city kids in juvenile detention who come together to forge a winning football team, is great material, but the film never catches fire. With rabid interest in the new football season and a major marketing blitz by Sony, the film could score a few early touchdowns in its first weekend but should tail off quickly after that.
Johnson plays Sean Porter, a dedicated probation officer at Camp Kilpatrick, the last stop for teenage gang members and violent offenders before the state locks them up with adults.
Frustrated by the frequency with which the kids return to the camp after being released, he imagines that by creating a football team he can instill discipline and a sense of self-worth in his charges. In other words, he's a man on a mission, and he's got plenty of work to do.
First, he must get the institution to go along with his plan. That means convincing reluctant camp director Paul Higa (Leon Rippy) and his assistant Dexter (Kevin Dunn) that it can work, and then finding other high school coaches willing to compete against convicted felons.
Then he has to put the team together. These kids, most of them from the Los Angles area, and many from rival gangs, already live in an environment of distrust and hatred.
His main reclamation project is Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker), a surly youth who killed his mother's boyfriend after losing his cousin in a drive-by shooting. Then there's his gang nemesis Kelvin (David Thomas), the angry Samoan Junior Palaita (Setu Taase), the team's water boy and mascot Bug (Brandon Mychal Smith) and the white but-not-too-trashy Kenny Bates (Trever O'Brien). In this sanitized version of street life, none of them are really bad kids, they just made bad choices.
Porter peppers them with uplifting messages about grit and determination and not being losers anymore. And -- surprise, surprise -- after numerous hardships and disappointments, the Mustangs, as they are called, become a self-respecting team that wins enough games to make it to the regional championship.
Director Phil Joanou, making his first feature in seven years, does a nice job giving the film a gritty, lived-in quality (much of the picture was shot at the real Camp Kilpatrick in the Santa Monica Mountains), and the football sequences, coached by Alan Graf, look and sound like The Real Thing. But screenwriter Jeff Maguire hasn't given them enough to work with.
The characters all have back stories -- Porter's mother is dying and he hates his father; Weathers is trying to go straight and win back his girlfriend; Junior longs to be reunited with his 2-year-old -- but not the depth to make them seem like anything more than types.
At an unbelievable 126 minutes, the film is bloated with story; too many things happen, mostly setbacks, to allow the movie to gather any momentum and soar, as this kind of picture must do to succeed. But Johnson is the real problem because the film is built around him. He is the latest in a long line of muscular hunks who don't so much emote as deliver lines. But in fairness, it is not easy to sell dialogue like, "accept this challenge and I promise you, you'll be winners."
Lensing by Jeff Cutter, production design by Floyd Albee, editing by Joel Negron and other tech credits are good enough to draw you into the film; unfortunately, there's nothing to keep you there.
GRIDIRON GANG
Sony Pictures
Columbia Pictures presents in association with Relativity Media an Original Film production
Credits:
Director: Phil Joanou
Screenwriter: Jeff Maguire
Executive producers: Michael Rachmil, Shane Stanley, Ryan Kavanaugh, Lynwood
Spinks
Producers: Neal H. Moritz, Lee Stanley
Director of photography: Jeff Cutter
Production designer: Floyd Albee
Music: Trevor Rabin
Co-producer: Amanda Cohen
Costume designer: Sanja Milkovic Hays
Editor: Joel Negron. Cast: Coach Sean Porter: Dwayne The Rock Johnson
Malcolm Moore: Xzibit
Ted Dexter: Kevin Dunn
Paul Higa: Leon Rippy
Willie Weathers: Jade Yorker
Kenny Bates: Trever O'Brien
Bug: Brandon Mychal Smith
Leon Hayes: Mo
Kelvin Owens: David Thomas
Junior Palaita: Setu Taase
Donald Madlock: James Earl III
Jamal Evans: Jamal Mixon
Danyelle Rollins: Jurnee Smollett
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 126 minutes...
A true story, based on an award-winning documentary, about inner city kids in juvenile detention who come together to forge a winning football team, is great material, but the film never catches fire. With rabid interest in the new football season and a major marketing blitz by Sony, the film could score a few early touchdowns in its first weekend but should tail off quickly after that.
Johnson plays Sean Porter, a dedicated probation officer at Camp Kilpatrick, the last stop for teenage gang members and violent offenders before the state locks them up with adults.
Frustrated by the frequency with which the kids return to the camp after being released, he imagines that by creating a football team he can instill discipline and a sense of self-worth in his charges. In other words, he's a man on a mission, and he's got plenty of work to do.
First, he must get the institution to go along with his plan. That means convincing reluctant camp director Paul Higa (Leon Rippy) and his assistant Dexter (Kevin Dunn) that it can work, and then finding other high school coaches willing to compete against convicted felons.
Then he has to put the team together. These kids, most of them from the Los Angles area, and many from rival gangs, already live in an environment of distrust and hatred.
His main reclamation project is Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker), a surly youth who killed his mother's boyfriend after losing his cousin in a drive-by shooting. Then there's his gang nemesis Kelvin (David Thomas), the angry Samoan Junior Palaita (Setu Taase), the team's water boy and mascot Bug (Brandon Mychal Smith) and the white but-not-too-trashy Kenny Bates (Trever O'Brien). In this sanitized version of street life, none of them are really bad kids, they just made bad choices.
Porter peppers them with uplifting messages about grit and determination and not being losers anymore. And -- surprise, surprise -- after numerous hardships and disappointments, the Mustangs, as they are called, become a self-respecting team that wins enough games to make it to the regional championship.
Director Phil Joanou, making his first feature in seven years, does a nice job giving the film a gritty, lived-in quality (much of the picture was shot at the real Camp Kilpatrick in the Santa Monica Mountains), and the football sequences, coached by Alan Graf, look and sound like The Real Thing. But screenwriter Jeff Maguire hasn't given them enough to work with.
The characters all have back stories -- Porter's mother is dying and he hates his father; Weathers is trying to go straight and win back his girlfriend; Junior longs to be reunited with his 2-year-old -- but not the depth to make them seem like anything more than types.
At an unbelievable 126 minutes, the film is bloated with story; too many things happen, mostly setbacks, to allow the movie to gather any momentum and soar, as this kind of picture must do to succeed. But Johnson is the real problem because the film is built around him. He is the latest in a long line of muscular hunks who don't so much emote as deliver lines. But in fairness, it is not easy to sell dialogue like, "accept this challenge and I promise you, you'll be winners."
Lensing by Jeff Cutter, production design by Floyd Albee, editing by Joel Negron and other tech credits are good enough to draw you into the film; unfortunately, there's nothing to keep you there.
GRIDIRON GANG
Sony Pictures
Columbia Pictures presents in association with Relativity Media an Original Film production
Credits:
Director: Phil Joanou
Screenwriter: Jeff Maguire
Executive producers: Michael Rachmil, Shane Stanley, Ryan Kavanaugh, Lynwood
Spinks
Producers: Neal H. Moritz, Lee Stanley
Director of photography: Jeff Cutter
Production designer: Floyd Albee
Music: Trevor Rabin
Co-producer: Amanda Cohen
Costume designer: Sanja Milkovic Hays
Editor: Joel Negron. Cast: Coach Sean Porter: Dwayne The Rock Johnson
Malcolm Moore: Xzibit
Ted Dexter: Kevin Dunn
Paul Higa: Leon Rippy
Willie Weathers: Jade Yorker
Kenny Bates: Trever O'Brien
Bug: Brandon Mychal Smith
Leon Hayes: Mo
Kelvin Owens: David Thomas
Junior Palaita: Setu Taase
Donald Madlock: James Earl III
Jamal Evans: Jamal Mixon
Danyelle Rollins: Jurnee Smollett
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 126 minutes...
- 9/15/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The makers of House of Wax display momentary flashes of imagination, but the film is mostly a routine slasher flick aimed at the youth market. Its title leads you to anticipate a remake of the 1953 Andre de Toth 3-D horror classic about corpses turned into wax figures, which was itself a remake of Michael Curtiz's neglected 1933 two-strip Technicolor masterwork, The Mystery of the Wax Museum. However, writers Chad and Carey W. Hayes and debuting feature director Jaume Collet-Serra toss out this source material in favor of a story more akin to an extended Twilight Zone episode, where college kids with a poor sense of self-preservation stumble upon a forgotten ghost town in the backwoods of Louisiana.
Filmed at the Warner Roadshow Studios in Queensland, Australia, and delayed from its 2004 release, the film should do brisk though brief business in markets catering to young people and college students. "Wax" has the added marquee "bonus" of Paris Hilton playing one of the careless youths.
The story is pure formula: Six young people hit the road for a weekend getaway to a big college football game only to get stranded in a forest at nightfall. Tensions already inflict the group: Carly (Elisha Cuthbert) is distressed that her twin brother, Nick Chad Michael Murray), a punk with an urge for trouble, came along as is her boyfriend, Wade (Jared Padalecki). Paige (Hilton) and boyfriend Blake (Robert Ri'chard) mostly want to sneak away for sexual interludes, while Nick's sad sack buddy Dalton (Jon Abrahams) annoys everyone by shooting all activities with his video camera.
A late-night confrontation with a mysterious trucker, followed by the apparent tampering with one of their vehicles, causes the group to split up. Everyone heads for the game except Carly and Wade, who hitch a ride to a nearby town in search of a fan belt with a clearly unstable character right out of Deliverance.
When they get to this town that isn't on any map, despite all the warning signs, the couple poke and pry where they shouldn't. Especially intriguing to them is a House of Wax where the figures are so "lifelike." Hmmm. Actually, this House of Wax takes its name literally -- everything including the house itself is made of wax. You don't ask how in the world this building was constructed.
Through unconvincing contrivances, the six young people try half-heartedly to regroup, only to keep winding up in pairs or alone so they make easy targets for introduction into the House of Wax. It soon becomes clear that all the town's people are made of wax save for demented twin brothers who run the whole show.
Everything comes down to a battle between the bad twins, Bo and Vincent (both played by Brian Van Holt), and good, Carly and Nick. What on Earth are the writers, who are twins too, trying to say about twins?
If a horror film contains any sequence that combines the grotesque with the surreal, then the film has done its job. House of Wax has two such sequences. The first graphically details the process of embalming a still-living body in wax -- the knife wounds and repairs, the trussing and securing of the body and the spraying of hot wax on an incapacitated person unable to scream. The second comes when a well-meaning friend discovers his buddy's waxed body and understandably tries to claw away the wax coating. Only by doing so, he is actually removing epidermis to expose blood, tissues and muscle.
Otherwise, characters are rote and unremarkable, plot devices predictable and the camera cheats by sticking close to actors so a viewer cannot see from where the next shock will come.
Acting is similarly routine with the glorious exception of Hilton, who is so bad she steals the show. Indeed, the best moment in the film occurs when the filmmakers make it clear that the true horror experienced by Hilton's character is when she finds herself without a working cell phone.
HOUSE OF WAX
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures presents in association with Village Roadshow Pictures
a Dark Castle Entertainment production
Credits:
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Screenwriters: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes
Based on a story by: Charles Belden
Producers: Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, Susan Levin
Executive producers: Herbert W. Gains, Steve Richards, Bruce Berman
Director of photography: Stephen Windon
Production designer: Graham Grace Walker
Music: John Ottman
Co-producer: Richard Mirisch
Costumes: Alex Alvarez, Graham Purcell
Editor: Joel Negron. Cast: Carly: Elisha Cuthbert
Nick: Chad Michael Murray
Bo/Vincent: Brian Van Holt
Paige: Paris Hilton
Wade: Jared Padalecki
Dalton: Jon Abrahams
Blake: Robert Ri'chard
MPAA rating -- R
Running time -- 116 minutes...
Filmed at the Warner Roadshow Studios in Queensland, Australia, and delayed from its 2004 release, the film should do brisk though brief business in markets catering to young people and college students. "Wax" has the added marquee "bonus" of Paris Hilton playing one of the careless youths.
The story is pure formula: Six young people hit the road for a weekend getaway to a big college football game only to get stranded in a forest at nightfall. Tensions already inflict the group: Carly (Elisha Cuthbert) is distressed that her twin brother, Nick Chad Michael Murray), a punk with an urge for trouble, came along as is her boyfriend, Wade (Jared Padalecki). Paige (Hilton) and boyfriend Blake (Robert Ri'chard) mostly want to sneak away for sexual interludes, while Nick's sad sack buddy Dalton (Jon Abrahams) annoys everyone by shooting all activities with his video camera.
A late-night confrontation with a mysterious trucker, followed by the apparent tampering with one of their vehicles, causes the group to split up. Everyone heads for the game except Carly and Wade, who hitch a ride to a nearby town in search of a fan belt with a clearly unstable character right out of Deliverance.
When they get to this town that isn't on any map, despite all the warning signs, the couple poke and pry where they shouldn't. Especially intriguing to them is a House of Wax where the figures are so "lifelike." Hmmm. Actually, this House of Wax takes its name literally -- everything including the house itself is made of wax. You don't ask how in the world this building was constructed.
Through unconvincing contrivances, the six young people try half-heartedly to regroup, only to keep winding up in pairs or alone so they make easy targets for introduction into the House of Wax. It soon becomes clear that all the town's people are made of wax save for demented twin brothers who run the whole show.
Everything comes down to a battle between the bad twins, Bo and Vincent (both played by Brian Van Holt), and good, Carly and Nick. What on Earth are the writers, who are twins too, trying to say about twins?
If a horror film contains any sequence that combines the grotesque with the surreal, then the film has done its job. House of Wax has two such sequences. The first graphically details the process of embalming a still-living body in wax -- the knife wounds and repairs, the trussing and securing of the body and the spraying of hot wax on an incapacitated person unable to scream. The second comes when a well-meaning friend discovers his buddy's waxed body and understandably tries to claw away the wax coating. Only by doing so, he is actually removing epidermis to expose blood, tissues and muscle.
Otherwise, characters are rote and unremarkable, plot devices predictable and the camera cheats by sticking close to actors so a viewer cannot see from where the next shock will come.
Acting is similarly routine with the glorious exception of Hilton, who is so bad she steals the show. Indeed, the best moment in the film occurs when the filmmakers make it clear that the true horror experienced by Hilton's character is when she finds herself without a working cell phone.
HOUSE OF WAX
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures presents in association with Village Roadshow Pictures
a Dark Castle Entertainment production
Credits:
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Screenwriters: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes
Based on a story by: Charles Belden
Producers: Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, Susan Levin
Executive producers: Herbert W. Gains, Steve Richards, Bruce Berman
Director of photography: Stephen Windon
Production designer: Graham Grace Walker
Music: John Ottman
Co-producer: Richard Mirisch
Costumes: Alex Alvarez, Graham Purcell
Editor: Joel Negron. Cast: Carly: Elisha Cuthbert
Nick: Chad Michael Murray
Bo/Vincent: Brian Van Holt
Paige: Paris Hilton
Wade: Jared Padalecki
Dalton: Jon Abrahams
Blake: Robert Ri'chard
MPAA rating -- R
Running time -- 116 minutes...
- 5/20/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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