As an actor, you know the thrill is gone when verbally emasculating Ryan Gosling whilst wearing a leopard-print dress just doesn't do it for you anymore. And Kristin Scott Thomas has reached that point, if the acclaimed actress's recent comments during an interview with the Guardian are to be believed.
Talk about keeping your House in order. With ten days to go until the second season premiere of Netflix's hit political drama series House of Cards, the streaming giant is showing a strong vote of confidence in the show, its most awarded original series thus far, by ordering a third season. Considering the presence of A-listers like Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, it's not that surprising to hear that Netflix is interested in keeping the Beau Willimon-created show around for the foreseeable future.
This year's European Film Market in Berlin has seen all sorts of odd casting announcements, from Shia LaBeouf jumping back into acting with Rock the Casbah to Twilight's Nikki Reed climbing on board the ridiculous-sounding horror flick Email, but mixed in with all of the strange headlines have been a few promising reveals about some very intriguing projects.
Certainly one of the most intriguing small-screen projects currently in the works is NBC's miniseries adaptation of Rosemary's Baby. The project was greenlit late last year, and NBC has been busying itself in recent weeks with recruiting actors for the four-hour series.
Three days later, I'm still not quite sure what to make of Charlie Countryman. A messy, compelling fever dream of a film, it cleverly blends magical realism and the quest archetype with a Shakespearean love story and pulse-pounding action sequences, but it's also by no means a home run. Trying to assign the film to a genre proved fruitless, and drawing its plot and characters out on paper in attempt to discern some deeper meaning only left me confused. Clearly, director Fredrik Bond (known for his music videos) prioritized style over substance with his first feature film. And to Bond's credit, it's filled with some strikingly beautiful moments. Outside of those moments, however, it's difficult to get on Charlie Countryman's side, given its utter lack of concern for coherent storytelling.
One of my top ten films of 2013 was A Hijacking, a little-seen Danish film that, similarly to Paul Greengrass's Captain Phillips, turns a spotlight on what happens when a group of Somali pirates take over a cargo ship in the Indian Ocean. However, almost everything else about the two films is different.
One of the less well-known projects on horror super-producer Jason Blum's docket is Visions, a low-budget horror thriller about expectant mother Julia (Isla Fisher), who becomes terrorized by horrific visions of a creepy hooded figure only she can see. Though that set-up probably doesn't seem wholly unfamiliar to horror fans (see also: The Sixth Sense, The Eye, Final Destination, V/H/S/2), two recent casting reveals for Visions suddenly have me a lot more interested in the film. Anson Mount (AMC's Hell on Wheels) and Gillian Jacobs (NBC's Community) will both test out their horror chops with supporting roles.
Earlier this month, Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader showed off some suprising dramatic chops in Sundance hit The Skeleton Twins (check out Dominic Mill's four-star review here), and it looks like the actor is shaping up to have a truly terrific year. Hader has just entered negotiations to take on a lead role in Knocked Up director Judd Apatow's next big-screen comedy vehicle, the Amy Schumer-starring Trainwreck.
The Twilight Saga may have been a shamefully terrible chapter in teen-targeted cinema, but the series did act as a launch-pad for multiple actors and actresses, most notably Ashley Greene and Nikki Reed. Greene has demonstrated considerable acting talent in projects like CBGB and ABC's short-lived Pan Am, while Reed was one of the best parts of recent action fare like Catch .44 and Empire State. Greene already made her bid to become a Hollywood scream queen with 2012 flop The Apparition, and now, it's Reed's chance as the actress has just signed on to topline a Singapore-set horror film called Email, which will start shooting on location in Singapore this May.
Premium cable is often a place where TV writers and directors can delve into intense, character-driven stories without concern for keeping things PG-13. In fact, TV-MA programs thrive on channels like HBO, Showtime and, of course, Cinemax, which has completely earned its nickname "Skinemax" over the years. It's not uncommon to see shows with excessive violence, language and sexual content splashed across Cinemax, and its highest-profile original series yet, Banshee, is no exception.
