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Beyondfest Review: ‘Brawl in Cell Block 99’ Is an Epic of Tension and Beatdowns

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It’s that marvelous time of year in Hollywood. Halloween draws near. Horror and genre films are highlighted. And Beyondfest returns to blow our minds with premieres, revival screenings, and kick-ass shows! To start things with a brain-busting bang, opening night was the west coast premiere of Bone Tomahawk writer/director/composer S. Craig Zahler’s latest offering, Brawl In Cell Block 99.

I would like to caution that this review may contain some minor spoilers.

Brawl follows Bradley Thomas (Vince Vaughn), a down on his luck former fighter who is fired from his job as a tow trucker the same day he finds out his wife, Lauren (Jennifer Carpenter) has been cheating on him. Desperate, and wanting to keep his family together, Bradley finds a new line of work as a drug runner. His wife apologizes, they live in a nice home together, and all seems to finally be going well. But after a pick-up goes wrong, Bradley finds himself behind bars in medium security for several years. To make matters worse, his former employers tell him to track down a man in maximum security and kill him as a reprisal… or else. With little choice, Bradley Thomas must fight his way into the deepest bowels of the penal system.

That’s about as bare a synopses as I can give, and this is definitely the type of movie you want to go into as blindly as possible. Much like Bone TomahawkBrawl is a masterwork in building tension before exploding in beautifully choreographed displays of violence and brutality. So, while it isn’t necessarily an action sequence a minute, when push comes to shove, you will be knocked to the back of your seat. Once again, Zahler shows his skills as every conversation and dialogue Bradley has with supporting characters can be rather riveting, such as a his tense refusal when a CO tries to get Bradley to join the prison boxing league.

Image via Youtube

The film features a well built ensemble cast, with Vince Vaughn taking the lead. Though his attempts to move out of comedy and toward more dramatic roles such as in season 2 of True Detective have been met with mixed success, this will definitely go down as the movie that cements Vaughn’s abilities. We learn a minimal amount of Bradley Thomas’ backstory, but Vaughn truly introduces us to the character and tells us more about him from his demeanor and course of actions than any flashback could. Not to mention you will be borderline frightened of just what Vaughn is capable of after watching Brawl. Jennifer Carpenter works well off of Vaughn’s character, giving the fighting juggernaut an emotional and human anchor outside of his gritty life and with an edge of her own. As well, Don Johnson and Udo Kier have prominent and quite memorable supporting roles throughout, and are their peak in terms of acting threateningly.

The film is evocative of a lot of prison, crime, and grindhouse films of the 60’s and 70’s, with a funky and catchy soundtrack composed by Zahler as the cherry on top.

So, if you’re game for a well paced fistfight through prison, I would highly recommend turning yourself in for Brawl In Cell Block 99 when it comes out on October 6th.

Image via IMDB.com

Feature Image via TIFF.com

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Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

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Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.

According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.

Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.

As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:

“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “

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New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

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Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.

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Original Blair Witch Cast Ask Lionsgate for Retroactive Residuals in Light of New Film

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The Blair Witch Project Cast

Jason Blum is planning to reboot The Blair Witch Project for the second time. That’s a fairly large task considering none of the reboots or sequels have managed to capture the magic of the 1999 film that brought found footage into the mainstream.

This idea has not been lost on the original Blair Witch cast, who has recently reached out to Lionsgate to ask for what they feel is fair compensation for their role in the pivotal film. Lionsgate gained access to The Blair Witch Project in 2003 when they purchased Artisan Entertainment.

Blair witch
The Blair Witch Project Cast

However, Artisan Entertainment was an independent studio before its purchase, meaning the actors were not part of SAG-AFTRA. As a result, the cast are not entitled to the same residuals from the project as actors in other major films. The cast doesn’t feel that the studio should be able to continue to profit off of their hard work and likenesses without fair compensation.

Their most recent request asks for “meaningful consultation on any future ‘Blair Witch’ reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc., in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.”

The blair witch project

At this time, Lionsgate has not offered any comment about this issue.

The full statement made by the cast can be found below.

OUR ASKS OF LIONSGATE (From Heather, Michael & Josh, stars of “The Blair Witch Project”):

1. Retroactive + future residual payments to Heather, Michael and Josh for acting services rendered in the original BWP, equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.

2. Meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc…, in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.

Note: Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective. Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far un-utilized secret-weapon!

3. “The Blair Witch Grant”: A 60k grant (the budget of our original movie), paid out yearly by Lionsgate, to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making theirfirst feature film. This is a GRANT, not a development fund, hence Lionsgate will not own any of the underlying rights to the project.

A PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE DIRECTORS & PRODUCERS OF “THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”:

As we near the 25th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, our pride in the storyworld we created and the film we produced is reaffirmed by the recent announcement of a reboot by horror icons Jason Blum and James Wan.

While we, the original filmmakers, respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit, we must highlight the significant contributions of the original cast — Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams. As the literal faces of what has become a franchise, their likenesses, voices, and real names are inseparably tied to The Blair Witch Project. Their unique contributions not only defined the film’s authenticity but continue to resonate with audiences around the world.

We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise.

Sincerely, Eduardo Sanchez, Dan Myrick, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie, and Michael Monello

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