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‘Bill and Ted Face the Music’ is a Nostalgic Romp Through Time and Space

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Bill and Ted Face the Music lands in theaters tomorrow. It’s a sequel 30 years in the making that was entirely worth the wait!

As the film opens, we find Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) performing a song at Ted’s brother’s wedding to Missy (Amy Stoch). You remember Missy. She was their step-mom back in the first film.

After a disastrous couples’ therapy session with their wives following the wedding, the guys arrive home–they’re now next door neighbors–to discover that they have indeed, not written the song that will save the universe and worse, the very fabric of time and space is being ripped apart.

With that, we’re off to the races. As Bill and Ted rush out to restore reality, their daughters Thea (Samara Weaving) and Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) stumble upon a new and improved time travel pod and set out to round up a killer band to help their dads out.

Old friends and new join Bill and Ted on this new journey.

This film was honestly just about everything that a fan of Bill & Ted could want in a sequel, and I’ll admit that it made me feel like a kid again as I settled in for this latest adventure.

Director Dean Parisot assembled a number of familiar faces from the previous films to accompany Reeves and Winter including William Sadler as Death, Hal Landon, Jr. as Ted’s father, and the previously mentioned Stoch. It was a brilliant move to tie the film back to its predecessors, and it was astonishing how seamlessly all of these actors slipped back into their roles.

Yet with all its nostalgia, the new cast of characters are regularly allowed to steal the show.

Weaving and Lundy-Paine are absolutely incredible as the duo’s daughters. They are almost more Bill and Ted than Winter and Reeves, bringing that youthful energy from the first films to the mix.

Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving with Kid Cudi in Bill and Ted Face the Music

Likewise, Kristen Schaal is hilarious in the role of Rufus’s daughter, Kelly. More intense than her father, but dedicated to his mission, Schaal delivers every line with a razor-sharp wit that cuts through all of the various agendas going on around her especially with Holland Taylor as the new Great Leader.

Of course this wouldn’t be a Bill and Ted movie without a smattering of historic musicians. Always an adventure, this one went just a little strange. While Jimi Hendrix (DazMann Still), Louis Armstrong (Jeremiah Craft), and Mozart (Daniel Dorr) are all along for the ride, the ladies also pick up Ling Lun (Sharon Gee)–the mythic founder of music in China given a fun gender-swap–and Grom (Patty Anne Miller), a cavewoman and a badass drummer.

This shiny new cast is the film’s ultimate saving grace.

Writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson rightfully remembered that even the most nostalgic sequel must still move the story forward. They chose a route that not only honors what came before but also breathes new life into this particular tale that could very well open the door to more storytelling in this universe.

What struck me most about the film, however, is just how timely it seems.

Though it was made long before Covid-19 struck and protests broke out across the U.S. in particular, the film’s message of being kind and respectful to one another and that there are universal needs that can bring us together when we put aside our prejudices and fear is one that the world sorely needs right now.

That’s not a new idea in this franchise, by the way, for those who might think the movie suddenly got political. Go back and watch the original. It’s there, as well. You were just too young to pick up on it.

As the credits rolled on Bill and Ted Face the Music, I honestly felt better. The film actually lifted my spirits and put me in a good mood. Maybe it’s the time travel. Maybe it’s the music. Maybe it’s the trippy escapades in Hell with Death. Something about it works, and if you’re a fan of the first two films, then this sequel is an absolute must-see.

Bill and Ted Face the Music is out in theaters and on digital platforms on August 28, 2020.

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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