Monday, August 15, 2022

Olivia Wilde's "Don't Worry Darling" to World Premiere at Venice Film Festival 2022

New Line Cinema’s and Filmmaker Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling” to World Premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New Line Cinema’s “Don’t Worry Darling,” the highly anticipated second feature from director Olivia Wilde, is set to make its out-of-competition world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia, running from August 31st to September 10th, 2022. The announcement was made today by Alberto Barbera, Director of the 79th Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia.

In tandem with the announcement, Wilde—who will attend the Festival, along with co-stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan and Chris Pine—stated, “I am honored and thrilled that ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. When we dreamed of making this movie, we imagined Venice as our ultimate goal, and we can hardly believe it’s really happening! From our cast —led by the formidable Florence Pugh and Harry Styles—to the design of this world and the kinetic cinematography, the film was crafted for viewing in the collective setting of the theatrical experience. For this first screening to take place in the jewel-like surroundings of the Venice Lido and in the presence of some of international cinema’s most accomplished artists is beyond exciting. I look forward to sharing the visceral ride of ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ with the world, beginning with the Venice Film Festival, and I wish to thank Alberto Barbera and the Biennale for the selection. This is truly a dream come true.”

The Venice International Film Festival is officially recognized by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Association). The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. The Festival also organizes retrospectives and tributes to major figures as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.

From New Line Cinema comes “Don’t Worry Darling,” directed by Olivia Wilde (“Booksmart”) and starring Florence Pugh (Oscar-nominated for “Little Women”), Harry Styles (“Dunkirk”), Wilde (upcoming “Babylon”), Gemma Chan (“Crazy Rich Asians”), KiKi Layne (“The Old Guard”) and Chris Pine (“All the Old Knives”).

Alice (Pugh) and Jack (Styles) are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950’s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Pine)—equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach—anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia.

While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the “development of progressive materials,” their wives—including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Chan)—get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause.

But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise?

An audacious, twisted and visually stunning psychological thriller, “Don’t Worry Darling” is a powerhouse feature from director Olivia Wilde that boasts bold performances from Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, surrounded by the impressive and pitch-perfect cast.

The film also stars Nick Kroll (“How It Ends”), Sydney Chandler (“Pistol”), Kate Berlant (“Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”), Asif Ali (“WandaVision”), Douglas Smith (“Big Little Lies”), Timothy Simons (“Veep”) and Ari’el Stachel (“Respect the Jux”).

Wilde directs from a screenplay penned by her “Booksmart” writer Katie Silberman, based on a story by Carey Van Dyke & Shane Van Dyke (“Chernobyl Diaries”) and Silberman. The film is produced by Wilde, Silberman, Miri Yoon and Roy Lee, with Richard Brener, Celia Khong, Alex G. Scott, Catherine Hardwicke, Carey Van Dyke and Shane Van Dyke executive producing.

Wilde is joined behind the camera by two-time Oscar-nominated director of photography Matthew Libatique (“A Star Is Born,” “Black Swan”), production designer Katie Byron (“Booksmart”), editor Affonso Gonçalves (“The Lost Daughter”), Oscar-nominated composer John Powell (“Jason Bourne”), music supervisor Randall Poster (“No Time to Die”) and costume designer Arianne Phillips (“Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”).

A New Line Cinema presentation, “Don’t Worry Darling” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and is set to open in theaters internationally beginning September 21, 2022 and in North America on September 23, 2022.

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Saturday, August 13, 2022

Review: "DRIVE MY CAR" is an Extraordinary Drama and is One of 2021's Best Films

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 47 of 2022 (No. 1859) by Leroy Douresseaux

Drive My Car (2021)
Original title: Doraibu Mai Kā (Japan)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Japan; Languages: Japanese, Korean Sign Language, English, and others
Running time:  179 minutes (2 hours, 59 minutes)
DIRECTOR:  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
WRITERS:  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe (based on the short story by Haruki Murakami)
PRODUCERS:  Teruhisa Yamamoto
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hidetoshi Shinomiya
EDITOR:  Azusa Yamazaki
COMPOSER:  Eiko Ishibashi
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring:  Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Masaki Okada, Park Yu-rim, Jin Dae-yeon, Sonia Yuan, Ahn Hwitae, Peri Dizon, and Satoko Abe

Doraibu Mai Kā is a 2021 Japanese drama film directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.  The film is also known by its English title, Drive My Car (the title which I will use for this review).  The film is based on author Haruki Murakami's short story, "Drive My Car," which is included in Murakami's 2014 short story collection, Men Without Women.  Drive My Car the movie focuses on a recent widower who is directing a play and dealing with the fact that he must accept someone else driving his beloved car.

Drive My Car is set in Japan and introduces actor and well-known theater director, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima).  He was married to Oto (Reika Kirishima), an attractive screenwriter who suddenly died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Two years later, Yusuke accepts a residency in Hiroshima, where he will direct a multilingual adaptation of Uncle Vanya, the 1898 play by the renowned Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov.  Yusuke also discovers that the theater company financing Uncle Vanya, the Hiroshima Arts and Culture Center, requires that Yusuke not drive his car, but instead be chauffeured in his own car.  He objects at first, but a reserved young female chauffeur, Misaki Watari (Toko Miura), reveals herself to be a skilled driver.  So Yusuke accepts someone else driving his car.

Yusuke begins casting the play and discovers that one of the auditioning actors is Koshi Takatsuki, a former colleague of his late wife, Oto.  As he works through the play with the cast, Yusuke deals with his grief, but discovers that the young actor, Koshi, and his young driver, Misaki, are also dealing with grief, regret, and inner turmoil.

Apparently, the complicated feelings and trauma of the characters in Drive My Car echo the emotional turmoil of the characters in Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya.  I have never read Uncle Vanya, nor have I ever seen a production of it.

That does not stop me from seeing Drive My Car as probably the best film of 2021.  The film is meditative and contemplative and has a smooth, calm pace which heightens the film's sense of intimacy.  This tranquility allows director Ryusuke Hamaguchi to direct a film in which it really looks like the actors are engaging in self-examination.  The film's themes of regret, of accepting others as they are, and of self-acceptance feel genuine.

One might think that Drive My Car is dull or even complicated, but it is not.  The film is rather straightforward, and the confrontations between characters can be intense but feel constructive.  Drive My Car may be too slow for most American audiences, but I think that serious film lovers will find themselves engrossed by this hauntingly beautiful and most painfully human film.  They may even find it helpful.  Watching the film, I felt as if I were experiencing something I needed to see and hear a long time ago.

This film received many honors, including winning the Academy Award for “Best Foreign Language Film.”  Still, I would have liked to have seen some of its cast, especially lead actor, Hidetoshi Nishijima (Yusuke), and supporting actress, Toko Miura (as the drive Misaki), earn Oscar acting notices.  Yusuke and Misaki's scenes at the latter's old home during the last half hour of the film are some of the best in years and some of the best performed.  Other cast members:  Reika Kirishima, Masaki Okada, and Park Yu-rim, are also worthy of award notice.

Drive My Car's cinematographer, Hidetoshi Shinomiya, made the film one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, of the year.  From majestic exterior vistas to shadowy and cozy interiors shots, Drive My Car looks both intimate and epic.  Eiko Ishibashi's film score, with its futuristic flourishes and electronica sensibilities, accentuates Shinomiya's cinematography,

That is the thing about Drive My Car.  Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi has great collaborators, including his co-writer, Takamasa Oe, and he could not have made Drive My Car the achievement in cinema that it is without them.  He could not have made a film in which some of its best scenes occur inside a moving car such an sublime film experience.  Drive My Car.

10 of 10

Friday, August 12, 2022

NOTES:
2022 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best International Feature Film” (Japan); 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Teruhisa Yamamoto), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi), and “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe)

2022 BAFTA Awards:  1 win “Best Film Not in the English Language” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Teruhisa Yamamoto); 2 nominations: “Best Director” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi) and “Best Screenplay-Adapted” )Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)

2022 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win : “Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language” (Japan)

2021 Cannes Film Festival:  3 wins: “Best Screenplay” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe), “FIPRESCI Prize” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi), and “Prize of the Ecumenical Jury” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
; 1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)

The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Comics Review: "ARCHIE &FRIENDS: Thrills & Chills #1" Finds Wacky Fun at the Carnival

ARCHIE & FRIENDS: THRILLS & CHILLS #1
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC.

STORY: J. Torres; Tom DeFalco; Frank Doyle; Mike Pellowski
PENCILS: Rex Lindsey; Pat & Tim Kennedy; Dan DeCarlo
INKS: Rex Lindsey; Bob Smith; Rudy Lapick; Jon D'Agostino
COLORS: Glenn Whitmore; Digikore Studios; Barry Grossman
LETTERS: Rex Lindsey; Jack Morelli; Bill Yoshida
EDITORS: Jamie Lee Rotante; Vincent Lovallo; Stephen Oswald
EiC: Mike Pellerito
COVER: Dan Parent with Rosario “Tito” Peña
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (October 2022)

Rating: All-Ages

Eternal high school student and teenage boy, Archie Andrews, and his friends made their debut in M.L.J. Magazines' Pep Comics #22 (cover dated: December 1941), and before long, Archie was the publisher's headliner character.  In 1946, the company changed its named to Archie Comic Publications, also known as “Archie Comics.”

In 1992, Archie Comics began publishing the title Archie & Friends, and it would run for 159 issues, ceasing publication in 2012.  Since 2019, Archie has published a number of single-issue Archie & Friends titles built around a theme, such as Archie & Friends: Beach Party, Archie & Friends: Fall Festival, and Archie & Friends: Superheroes.

Archie & Friends: Thrills & Chills #1 is the newest Archie & Friends themed release and is issue #14 in the series.  Described by Archie Comics as a “collection of thrill rides, exciting adventures, and odd occurrences,” Thrills & Chills #1 contains four stories – one new story and three reprints.

“Return to Mirrordale” is the opening story.  It is written by J. Torres; drawn and lettered by Rex Lindsey; colored by Glenn Whitmore.  Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Reggie are visiting a local carnival when Archie starts acting strangely.  It seems that he is very frightened of the “House of Mirrors,” but the others insist on going inside even if Archie won't.  Soon, Betty, Veronica, and Reggie will discover the absolute weirdness of the mirrors inside.

THE LOWDOWN:   The current Archie & Friends series presents art and stories in the classic Archie Comics style.  Archie & Friends: Thrills & Chills #1 even includes a “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” story (“Carnival Capers”) that is drawn by the progenitor of the classic Archie Comics house style, the late Dan DeCarlo (1919-2001).

In fact, the theme of the four stories in Archie & Friends: Thrills & Chills #1 is wacky fun at the carnival.  The lead and new story for this issue, “Return to Mirrordale” is a delight and could have been longer than its five pages in length, which does leave it with untapped potential.  This story is also a sequel of sorts to “Welcome to Mirrordale,” a story about an alternate dimension that appeared in Archie #647.  I hope that the creative team of Return to Mirrordale,” J. Torres and Rex Lindsey (or another team), return to “Mirrordale” at some point in the future.

Dear readers, I have to be honest.  I have enjoyed what little of the modern Archie Comics that I have read, but I grew up on classic-style Archie Comics.  Thus, I will always recommend such Archie titles, so I am giving Archie & Friends: Thrills & Chills #1 a hearty recommendation.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic-style Archie Comics will want to find a copy of  Archie & Friends: Thrills & Chills #1 and copies of other Archie & Friends comic books.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Comics Review: "RED SITHA #4" Closes in Style

RED SITHA #4
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Mirka Andolfo and Luca Blengino
ART: Valentina Pinti
COLORS: Chiara Di Francia
LETTERS: Jeff Eckleberry
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Junggeun Yoon
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2022)

Rated Teen+

Sitha is a female character that debuted in Red Sonja Volume 6 #1, and she was created by comic book superstar Mirka Andolfo.  Red Sonja accepted a bounty to bring a girl named “Sitha” to a broker who would send her home to her father.  The girl, however, became attached to Sonja and called her “Mother” and their adventures began.

Now, Sitha is “Sitha the Red,” and she is the star of her own comic book series, Red Sitha.  It is written by Andolfo and Luca Blengino; drawn by Valentina Pinti; colored by Chiara Di Francia; and lettered by Jeff Eckleberry.  The series focuses on Sitha the Red, the adopted daughter of Red Sonja, now a decade older and a bounty hunter in the Kingdom of Aquilonia.  That is until Kildrick, a young man who claims to be Sitha's brother, involves her in a suicide mission.

Red Sitha #4 opens as Sitha, Kildrick, and Kebra prepare to enter the lair of Shefru-Sobek – the undisputed master of the “Living Necropolis.”  At least, it finally brings Sitha and Kildrick face to face with their parents.  Now, Sitha must confront old enemies if she is to survive and free her parents in a story that features lots of reunions.  And one of them is most shocking!

THE LOWDOWN:   Since July 2021, the marketing department at Dynamite Entertainment has been providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Red Sitha #4, the fourth issue of the series that I have read.

I don't know if Red Sitha #4 is the end of this series; it may be.  If it is, this fourth issue is a glorious ending, and the most shocking thing about it is that it is filled with breath-taking reveals and reunions.  But I want this to be a NO SPOILERS!!! kind of review.

I can say that I still think that writers Mirka Andolfo and Luca Blengino have created what is probably the best Robert E. Howard-type spin-off, one both highly imaginative and delightfully humorous.  Artist Valentina Pinti delivers such rich storytelling, a landscape of shifting moods and settings that captures the imagination and transports readers to new worlds.  Colorist Chiara Di Francia's beautiful colors make Pinti's pretty art a paradise of eye candy.

I want you to read this comic book (or a trade collection), Red Sitha, dear readers.  You'll love it

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Red Sonja and of Mirka Andolfo will want to try Red Sitha.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 7th to 13th, 2022 - Update #15

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BREAKING NEWS - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actress Anne Heche has been taken off life support.  She suffered grave injuries in a fiery car crash last Friday, August 5th.

From VarietyAnne Heche has reportedly been declared "legally dead" in the state of California.  Her heart remains beating and she may not have been taken off life support.  Heche was an organ donor, and the waiting may be the result of determining the viability of her organs for donation.

MOVIES - From DeadlineSienna Miller and Sam Worthington are the leads in "Horizon," the passion project that Kevin Costner will direct, produce, and finance.

DOCUMENTARIES - From Deadline:  Production is underway on a feature documentary inspired by "New York Times" columnist Charles Blow’s book "The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto." The book suggests a "reverse great migration," in which Black people would migrate from the north back to the south.

From Deadline:  Director Sam Pollard is working on a documentary about recently deceased pro basketball and NBA legend, Bill Russell, for Netflix.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  France’s Why Not Productions has unveiled a playful first teaser image of Johnny Depp in the role of King Louis XV in French director Maïwenn’s historical love story "Jeanne du Barry."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  The superstar team of actor-producer Tom Cruise and writer-director-producer Christopher McQuarrie are working on "Mission: Impossible 8" and art planning three new projects.  One of them is a song-and-dance-like musical in which Cruise would star.

BREAKING - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actress Anne Heche is far worse off than initially reported in the wake of her fiery car crash on Friday, Aug. 5th.  She is in a coma and has not regained consciousness, according a statement from her representative.

MOVIES - From BloodyDisgusting:  Horror film producer Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment says that there will be some big news near the end of the year about a return of the "Friday the 13th" film franchise.  The last film was released in 2009, and there is currently a disagreement over rights issues between the series first screenwriter, Victor Miller, and director Sean Cunningham.

BOX OFICE - From BoxOfficePro:   The winner of the 8/5 to 8/7/2022 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "Bullet Train" (starring Brad Pitt) with an estimated take of 30.1 million dollars.

From BoxOfficePro:  The site has an interview with "Bullet Train" director, David Leitch."

CELEBRITY - From TMZ:  Actress Anne Heche was involved in a car crash in the Mar Vista area of Los Angeles in which she crashed her vehicle into a house and caused a blaze on Fri., Aug. 5th. Just moments earlier, Heche reportedly crashed into the garage of an apartment complex before driving away and crashing into the house.

AMAZON - From THRPeter Jackson, the Oscar-winning director of "The Lord of the Rings" film series says that Amazon asked him to be involved with its megabudget "Lord of the Rings" streaming TV series and then cut off contact with him.  Amazon suggests the story isn't quite so simple.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Actor, stuntman, martial artist, and professional wrestler, Gene LeBell, has died at the age of 89, Tuesday, August 9, 2022.  He worked on over 1000 films and television shows.  LeBell fought Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Steven Seagal, to name a few, and his fight with Seagal had a notorious conclusion not in Seagal's favor.  LeBell was one of the inspirations for Brad Pitt's character, "Cliff Booth," in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

From Variety:  Australian singer-songwriter and actress, Olivia Newton-John, has died at the age of 73, August 8, 2022.  She famously starred in the 1978 musical film, "Grease," and the film's soundtrack, which is still one of the best-selling musical albums of all time, included two hits songs featuring Newton-John and her Grease co-star, John Travolta.  She was the top female pop vocalist of the 1970s and continued to have "Billboard Top 10" hits into 1983.  She also starred in the 1980 film, "Xanadu," which yielded three more hits singles for her, and the 1983 film, "Two of a Kind," which yielded another hit single for her. Newton-John won four Grammy Awards and received eight other nominations.

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BRITTNEY GRINER:

From Vox:  Vox's Jonathan Guyer talks the Brittney Griner case with Danielle Gilbert, a Dartmouth professor who is writing a book about states and rogue actors that take hostages.

From ESPN:   A Russian court sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison Thursday, Aug. 4th.  Griner was arrested Feb. 17 for bringing cannabis into the country and pleaded guilty July 7, though the case continued under Russian law.

From ESPN:  The Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

From RSN:  "Will Support From LeBron James, Joe Rogan, Kim Kardashian, and Other Celebrities Help Free Brittney Griner From a Russian Prison?" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar via Substack

From ESPN:  Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday to bringing hashish oil into Russia, telling a judge that she had done so "inadvertently" while asking the court for mercy.

From CBSSports:  The Brittney Griner situation explained.

From RSN:  According to The Washington Post Editorial Board: "Brittney Griner is a hostage, plain and simple.


Friday, August 12, 2022

Review: Steven Spielberg's "Duel" (Countdown to "The Fabelmans")

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 46 of 2022 (No. 1858) by Leroy Douresseaux

Duel (1971) – TV movie
Running time:  90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  Steven Spielberg
WRITER: Richard Matheson (based on his short story)
PRODUCER:  George Eckstein
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jack a Marta (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Frank Morriss
COMPOSER:  Billy Goldenberg
Primetime Emmy Award winner

THRILLER/ACTION

Starring:  Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell, Lucille Benson, and Carey Loftin

Duel is a 1971 action-thriller and television film directed by Steven Spielberg.  The film is based on the short story, “Duel,” which was first published in the April 1971 issue of Playboy Magazine.  It was written by Richard Matheson, who also wrote this film's teleplay (screenplay).  Duel the movie focuses on a business commuter pursued and terrorized by a driver in a massive tanker truck.

Duel was originally a “Movie of the Week” that was broadcast on ABC November 20, 1971.  Duel was the first film directed by Steven Spielberg, and it is considered to be the film that marked young Spielberg as an up and coming film director.  Following its successful air on television, Universal had Spielberg shoot new scenes for Duel in order to extend it from its original length of 74 minutes for TV to 90 minutes for a theatrical release.  This extended version of Duel was released to theaters internationally and also received a limited release in the United States.  The theatrical version is the subject of this review.

Duel focuses on David Mann (Dennis Weaver), a middle-aged salesman.  One morning, he leaves his suburban home to drive across California on a business trip.  Along the way, he encounters a dilapidated tanker truck that is driving too slow for David.  He drives his car past the tanker, but a short while later, the tanker speeds up and roars past David's car.  After David passes the tanker again, the truck driver blasts his horn.  That sets off a cat and mouse game in which the tanker's seemingly malevolent driver pursues David's car and terrorizes him.  And nothing David does can help him to escape the pursuit.

I think that the mark of a great film director is his or her ability to get the most out of his or her cast and creatives and a maximum effort from the film crew.  Duel is a display of excellent work on the stunt performers and drivers.  Together with the camera crew, sound technicians, and film editor, they deliver a small screen film that offers a big cinematic duel between a small car and relentless tanker truck.

Dennis Weaver delivers a performance in multiple layers as David Mann.  Weaver makes Mann seem like a real businessman type, a cog-in-the-machine and ordinary fellow just trying to make it in the world.  Weaver does not seem to be acting so much as he is living and fighting for survival.

Behind all this is the young maestro, Steven Spielberg.  It is not often that TV movies get the cinematic treatment, but I imagine that the original production company, Universal Television, was quite pleased when they first saw this film.  It is genuinely thrilling and unsettling, and the truck driver (played by stuntman Carey Loftin), who is unseen except for his forearm and waving hand and his jeans and cowboy boots, can unnerve like the best horror film slasher killers.  The way that dilapidated tanker truck moves makes me think that it was a precursor to the shark in Jaws, which would become Spielberg's first blockbuster theatrical film just a few years (1975) after the release of Duel.

Richard Matheson's script for the film seems to want to make the viewer really wonder about the driver.  Is he evil... or a maniac... or demented prankster?  Why does he focus on David Mann?  Has he done this before?  What is his endgame with David?  Does he want to kill him or just punish him.  Does he want to torment David before he crushes him and his car beneath his tanker truck's wheels?

Steven Spielberg brings those questions to fearsome life on the small screen and later big screen.  He makes Duel work both by scaring us and David with the big bad truck and by fascinating us with all these questions concerning the trucker's motivations and David's fate.  Hindsight is just as accurate as foresight in the case of Duel.  Steven Spielberg was great, practically from the beginning.

7 of 10
A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars


Friday, August 12, 2022


NOTES:
1972 Primetime Emmy Awards:  1 win: “Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing” (Jerry Christian, James Troutman, Ronald LaVine, Sid Lubowm Richard Raderman, Dale Johnston, Sam Caylor, John Stacy, and Jack Kirschner – sound editors); 1 nomination: “Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Entertainment Programming – For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television (Jack A. Marta)

1972 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination “Best Movie Made for TV”



The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Comics Review: "ELVIRA in Horrorland Volume 1 #3" Spoofs Ridley Scott's "Alien"

ELVIRA IN HORRORLAND VOLUME 1 #3
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: David Avallone
ART: Silvia Califano
COLORS: Walter Pereya
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Joseph Rybandt
COVER: Dave Acosta and Jason Moore
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2022)

Rated Teen+

Chapter Three: “Giger Encounter”


In 1981, actress and model Cassandra Peterson created the “horror hostess character,” known as “Elvira.”  Elvira gradually grew in popularity and eventually became a brand name.  As Elvira, Peterson endorsed many products and became a pitch-woman, appearing in numerous television commercials throughout the 1980s.

Elvira also appeared in comic books, beginning in 1986 with the short-lived series from DC Comics, Elvira's House of Mystery.  In 2018, Elvira returned to comic books via Dynamite Entertainment.  Elvira's latest comic book series is Elvira in Horrorland Volume 1.  The series is written by David Avallone; drawn by Silvia Califano; colored by Walter Pereyra; and lettered by Taylor Esposito.  The series finds Elvira trapped in the Multiverse of Movies (a bunch of “pocket dimensions” created by the existence of movies) with only the illusive “Remote Control of Federico Fellini” capable of returning her home.

Elvira in Horrorland Volume 1 #3 (“Giger Encounter”) opens in the aftermath of Elvira's (mis)adventures at “Bloch's Motel” and “The Overcooked Hotel.”  She leaves the confines of travel lodging for the cold comforts of outer space.

The Mistress of the Dark lands in a doomed star ship, one with a deadly stowaway, and right away, she manages to “alienate” the crew.  Has the Multiverse of Movies finally placed Elvira in situation in which she cannot escape and cannot even find that remote control?  In space, no one can hear Elvira's sarcasm or puns.

THE LOWDOWN:  Since July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department has been providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Elvira in Horrorland Volume 1 #3, one of many Dynamite/David Avallone Elvira comic books that I have read and enjoyed.

In this third issue, writer David Avallone tackles his third legendary director, skewering one of his truly legendary films.  This time the director is multi-Academy Award nominee, Ridley Scott, and his 1979 Oscar-winning science fiction horror-thriller, Alien.  Avallone attacks the film with Xenomorph-like tenacity, but it is all in good fun.  There are lots of references to the other films in which the cast of Alien starred, including Ghostbusters and The Hobbit.  But the wittiest dialogue here may be a surprising reference to a particular sex act.

Artist Silvia Califano continues to summon the madcap spirit of the best parody comic books.  Califano also offers a wonderful homage to Walter Simonson, the great artist of the first comic book adaptation of Alien.  [That would be the 1979 paperback graphic novel, Alien: The Illustrated Story, published by Heavy Metal.]

Avallone and Califano are doing excellent work here.  They have made Elvira in Horrorland a great purveyor of parody in the best tradition of humor comic books like Mad Magazine.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Elvira and of David Avallone's Elvira comic books will want to read Elvira in Horrorland Volume 1.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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