Fifty Shades Darker — the second film in the Fifty Shades franchise — finally hits theaters today, to the delight of die-hard fans of the books and curious moviegoers everywhere.
Truth: I have (barely) recovered from witnessing Jamie Dornan‘s back muscles, abs and butt in the latest Fifty Shades installment. My reactions included half-heartedly clapping, audibly saying “dayum” whenever a suit-clad Dornan would pop up on screen, and, of course, snorting whenever Mr. Grey would send a “Laters, Baby” text.
Overall, however, the film left me with more questions than I had going in. (Yeah, we’re not surprised either.) Here...
Truth: I have (barely) recovered from witnessing Jamie Dornan‘s back muscles, abs and butt in the latest Fifty Shades installment. My reactions included half-heartedly clapping, audibly saying “dayum” whenever a suit-clad Dornan would pop up on screen, and, of course, snorting whenever Mr. Grey would send a “Laters, Baby” text.
Overall, however, the film left me with more questions than I had going in. (Yeah, we’re not surprised either.) Here...
- 2/11/2017
- by Grace Gavilanes
- PEOPLE.com
Soul man Billy Paul has died, aged 80.
The Me & Mrs. Jones singer passed away on Sunday (April 24), according to a message posted on his website.
The statement reads: "We regret to announce with a heavy heart that Billy has passed away today at home after a serious medical condition.
"We would like to extend our most sincere condolences to his wife Blanche and family for their loss, as they and the world grieves the loss of another musical icon... Billy will be truly missed."
Paul’s manager, Beverly Gay, has confirmed the news, telling outlets the singer died at his home in New Jersey a week after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Born Paul Williams, he first hit the stages of his native Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in his teens and once shared a bill with jazz great Charlie Parker, who became a mentor just before he died.
Using the advice the musician gave him,...
The Me & Mrs. Jones singer passed away on Sunday (April 24), according to a message posted on his website.
The statement reads: "We regret to announce with a heavy heart that Billy has passed away today at home after a serious medical condition.
"We would like to extend our most sincere condolences to his wife Blanche and family for their loss, as they and the world grieves the loss of another musical icon... Billy will be truly missed."
Paul’s manager, Beverly Gay, has confirmed the news, telling outlets the singer died at his home in New Jersey a week after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Born Paul Williams, he first hit the stages of his native Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in his teens and once shared a bill with jazz great Charlie Parker, who became a mentor just before he died.
Using the advice the musician gave him,...
- 4/25/2016
- GossipCenter
Huck #2
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Rafael Albuquerque
Colors by Dave McCaig
Letters by Nate Piekos
Published by Image Comics
After a nefarious opening sequence set in Cold War Russia that sets up another superpowered character and a possible adversary for Huck, Huck #2 shows the onslaught of media attention after Huck rescued some kidnapped girls from Boko Haram in Nigeria. But even though this soft-spoken and intellectually disabled young man is shaken up by the horde of people surrounding his adopted mother’s house, Huck spies a sad woman and is off to do three more good deeds. Writer Mark Millar continues to show Huck’s good and helpful heart despite the circumstances, including the media and possible fallout from a Cold War era Russian scientist. Artist Rafael Albuquerque excels at showing the ease and grace of Huck’s movements as he crosses the country looking for a family...
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Rafael Albuquerque
Colors by Dave McCaig
Letters by Nate Piekos
Published by Image Comics
After a nefarious opening sequence set in Cold War Russia that sets up another superpowered character and a possible adversary for Huck, Huck #2 shows the onslaught of media attention after Huck rescued some kidnapped girls from Boko Haram in Nigeria. But even though this soft-spoken and intellectually disabled young man is shaken up by the horde of people surrounding his adopted mother’s house, Huck spies a sad woman and is off to do three more good deeds. Writer Mark Millar continues to show Huck’s good and helpful heart despite the circumstances, including the media and possible fallout from a Cold War era Russian scientist. Artist Rafael Albuquerque excels at showing the ease and grace of Huck’s movements as he crosses the country looking for a family...
- 12/16/2015
- by Logan Dalton
- SoundOnSight
Dynasty star Joan Collins has reportedly won her defamation dispute with actress Shirley Jones, who claimed that a dinner date involving their husbands nearly turned into swinger party. The Partridge Family alum, 79, has agreed to remove Collins's name from her new book Shirley Jones: A Memoir, after Collins, 80, accused Jones of libel. In the book, Jones and her then-husband Jack Cassidy were at the home of Collins and Tony Newley for dinner. Afterwards, Newley proposed they all get naked and watch pornography. "It was clear what Tony was leading up to - swinging," Jones, who turned down the offer,...
- 8/2/2013
- by Paul Chi
- PEOPLE.com
That was fast ... Joan Collins has successfully convinced Shirley Jones' publisher that she did Not nearly have a 4-way orgy with Shirley and their two husbands back in the ''60s -- despite claims in Shirley's new book -- and now, the publisher has agreed to yank the story.As we reported, Shirley's new book "Shirley Jones: A Memoir" recounts a story about a sex party that nearly went down at Joan Collins...
- 8/1/2013
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
George Jones, the peerless, hard-living country singer who recorded dozens of hits about good times and regrets and peaked with the heartbreaking classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today," has died. He was 81. Publicist Kirt Webster says Jones died Friday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after being hospitalized with fever and irregular blood pressure. Known for his clenched, precise baritone, Jones had No. 1 songs in five separate decades, 1950s to 1990s, and was idolized not just by fellow country singers, but by Frank Sinatra, Pete Townshend, Elvis Costello, James Taylor and countless others. In a career that lasted more than 50 years,...
- 4/26/2013
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Some folks might gripe that Duets is yet another reality singing competition that’s guaranteed to produce a male winner — yeah, there’s not a lady to be found in the Final 3 — but I’ve got a bigger gripe with ABC’s low-wattage summer series: Of the six songs covered during the show’s Season 1 (Season Only?) performance finale, there’s not one that hadn’t been previously covered on American Idol or The Voice.
I know, I know…this kind of “crime” probably only matters to a handful of reality-competition junkies like myself, but given that Duets hasn’t...
I know, I know…this kind of “crime” probably only matters to a handful of reality-competition junkies like myself, but given that Duets hasn’t...
- 7/13/2012
- by Michael Slezak
- TVLine.com
The "Duets" performance finale kicks off with a performance of "Get Ready" from the stars. John Legend and Kelly Clarkson are much better on this song than the other two -- we wish just the two of them had performed it. Also, Kelly looks super hot in her dress. And Robin Thicke needs to stop wriggling his crotch at us. Stop that, Robin.
Tonight each amateur is performing a duet and also a solo, which seems kind of silly since the show's hook is "duets." Unnecessary filler, if you ask us. This episode should be 30 minutes long.
But first we must send somebody home. Bridget and John are in the Bottom 2 and Bridget goes home, which is not surprising. It's hard for girls on these public-voted-on shows nowadays. We would've actually swapped Bridget for Jason if you look at body of work, but all the men left are pretty solid.
Tonight each amateur is performing a duet and also a solo, which seems kind of silly since the show's hook is "duets." Unnecessary filler, if you ask us. This episode should be 30 minutes long.
But first we must send somebody home. Bridget and John are in the Bottom 2 and Bridget goes home, which is not surprising. It's hard for girls on these public-voted-on shows nowadays. We would've actually swapped Bridget for Jason if you look at body of work, but all the men left are pretty solid.
- 7/13/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
In case you missed it, we resurrected our old Videodrome column a month or so ago (first installment here, second here): our semi-regular showcase for the best music videos around. Since the form has given the world game-changing helmers in both the blockbuster and arthouse realms, it's always important to keep an eye on promos, and indeed, one could argue that there's more invention to be found in the short-form than there is in features. So, with no further ado, the five best music videos we've seen in the last few weeks. As ever, any tips and suggestions are more than welcome.
Niki & the Dove - "Tomorrow" (dir. Nadia Marquant Otzen)
Excited about "Prometheus?" So are we. And, it would seem, Swedish electro outfit Niki & The Dove, as the video for the lead single off their imminent album Instinct, has an appealing retro sci-fi feel that's undoubtedly reminiscent of...
Niki & the Dove - "Tomorrow" (dir. Nadia Marquant Otzen)
Excited about "Prometheus?" So are we. And, it would seem, Swedish electro outfit Niki & The Dove, as the video for the lead single off their imminent album Instinct, has an appealing retro sci-fi feel that's undoubtedly reminiscent of...
- 4/27/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Sarah Alexander and Neil Morrissey are to star in new BBC One sitcom 'Me and Mrs. Jones'. The six-episode series will see the 'Coupling' actress portray complex character Mrs. Jones, who is having to juggle love, affection, sex and motherhood between her ex-husband, one grown-up son, two young daughters and male admirers with a 20-year age gap. Hartswood Films - the production company behind BBC's 'Sherlock' series - has been commissioned to create the comedy TV season, which will also star 'Misfits' actor Robert Sheehan and 'Merlin's Nathaniel Parker. 'Me and Mrs. Jones' is created and written by Oriane Messina...
- 4/13/2012
- Virgin Media - TV
Sarah Alexander and Neil Morrissey are to star in new BBC One sitcom 'Me and Mrs. Jones'. The six-episode series will see the 'Coupling' actress portray complex character Mrs. Jones, who is having to juggle love, affection, sex and motherhood between her ex-husband, one grown-up son, two young daughters and male admirers with a 20-year age gap. Hartswood Films - the production company behind BBC's 'Sherlock' series - has been commissioned to create the comedy TV season, which will also star 'Misfits' actor Robert Sheehan and 'Merlin's Nathaniel Parker. 'Me and Mrs. Jones' is created and written by Oriane Messina...
- 4/11/2012
- Virgin Media - TV
Love and Hip Hop: Everything You Need to Know So Far
This past March, VH1 debuted Love and Hip Hop, its latest in a recent string of reality shows about a group of women joined together by their profession or their husband's profession. This time, it's not anything athletic that binds a group of women, as the name of the game is hip hop and each cast member of Love and Hip Hop plays a certain role in said industry.
There are the requisite girlfriends/wives/fiancees that shows like this tend to spotlight, with Chrissy and season two newbie Kimbella both attached to members of hip hop crew Dipset. Chrissy's with Jim Jones of "We Fly High" fame; the two were engaged at the tail end of last season, despite the protests from Jim's mother Nancy, who has felt disrespected by Chrissy for a long while. Nancy went as...
This past March, VH1 debuted Love and Hip Hop, its latest in a recent string of reality shows about a group of women joined together by their profession or their husband's profession. This time, it's not anything athletic that binds a group of women, as the name of the game is hip hop and each cast member of Love and Hip Hop plays a certain role in said industry.
There are the requisite girlfriends/wives/fiancees that shows like this tend to spotlight, with Chrissy and season two newbie Kimbella both attached to members of hip hop crew Dipset. Chrissy's with Jim Jones of "We Fly High" fame; the two were engaged at the tail end of last season, despite the protests from Jim's mother Nancy, who has felt disrespected by Chrissy for a long while. Nancy went as...
- 11/28/2011
- by Shilo Adams
- TVovermind.com
By Todd Garbarini
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My love of horror films didn’t start until I was twelve, but as a child in 1974 I recall seeing scenes from a film that featured a white poodle and a monster with eerie, red eyes. I didn’t know the name of it until my grandmother bought a VHS copy of Horror Express in September 1985 from K-mart for the then unheard of amount of eleven dollars. I immediately recognized the images and was delighted to finally know the film that had unnerved me years earlier.
Horror Express takes place at the turn of the 20th Century. Sir Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee), a British anthropologist, discovers frozen fossils during an archeological dig and takes them aboard the Tran-Siberian Express en route to England. Accompanying him are his colleague Dr. Wells (Peter Cushing) and his assistant Mrs. Jones (Alice Reinheart). Almost immediately,...
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
My love of horror films didn’t start until I was twelve, but as a child in 1974 I recall seeing scenes from a film that featured a white poodle and a monster with eerie, red eyes. I didn’t know the name of it until my grandmother bought a VHS copy of Horror Express in September 1985 from K-mart for the then unheard of amount of eleven dollars. I immediately recognized the images and was delighted to finally know the film that had unnerved me years earlier.
Horror Express takes place at the turn of the 20th Century. Sir Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee), a British anthropologist, discovers frozen fossils during an archeological dig and takes them aboard the Tran-Siberian Express en route to England. Accompanying him are his colleague Dr. Wells (Peter Cushing) and his assistant Mrs. Jones (Alice Reinheart). Almost immediately,...
- 11/26/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Chapter 1
Six of them drove out into the desert of Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas. There were four young guys and two girls. Each of them was out to drink away any stress from a hard week spent working along the Las Vegas strip.
They parked. Then, they began to drink, dance and party. Mostly acquaintances, Rob and Evan used some roofies to spike one of the girl’s drinks, Debbie. They did not know her name and nor did they want to. This was a night of exploitation.
Interlude
The next day, Debbie woke up on the red sand of the desert, desperately thirsty. Her head throbbed from a pounding heading. This was my punishment from the night before, she thought. Slowly, she rose to her feet, to find herself all alone on the city outskirts. Las Vegas wavered in the distance. Debbie tried to find her bearings: where was everyone?...
Six of them drove out into the desert of Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas. There were four young guys and two girls. Each of them was out to drink away any stress from a hard week spent working along the Las Vegas strip.
They parked. Then, they began to drink, dance and party. Mostly acquaintances, Rob and Evan used some roofies to spike one of the girl’s drinks, Debbie. They did not know her name and nor did they want to. This was a night of exploitation.
Interlude
The next day, Debbie woke up on the red sand of the desert, desperately thirsty. Her head throbbed from a pounding heading. This was my punishment from the night before, she thought. Slowly, she rose to her feet, to find herself all alone on the city outskirts. Las Vegas wavered in the distance. Debbie tried to find her bearings: where was everyone?...
- 8/2/2011
- by noreply@blogger.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
The Sandwitches lived up to the fanciful freakiness of their name on 2009’s How To Make Ambient Sad Cake, but it wasn’t until last year’s desolate Duck Duck Goose! Ep that the San Francisco psych-rock trio started to sound downright, well, witchy. Things get even darker on Mrs. Jones’ Cookies, which kicks off with singers Heidi Alexander and Grace Cooper devilishly yelping over a cauldron of reverb-heavy guitars and the cursed gallop of drummer Roxy Brodeur’s gently syncopated beats on “In The Garden.” The quirky side of The Sandwitches can still be detected in those utterly ...
- 3/29/2011
- avclub.com
Fox
Ashton Jones’ mother had to really push her daughter to audition for “American Idol” when the show held try-outs in her hometown of Nashville, Tenn. Jones was trying to make it as a musician, but she was making ends meet by working retail as a mall shoe store manager. To encourage her daughter, Mrs. Jones called her at work and told her it was her time. Jones complied, quit her dreams, and got her “Idol” wristband, making it as...
Ashton Jones’ mother had to really push her daughter to audition for “American Idol” when the show held try-outs in her hometown of Nashville, Tenn. Jones was trying to make it as a musician, but she was making ends meet by working retail as a mall shoe store manager. To encourage her daughter, Mrs. Jones called her at work and told her it was her time. Jones complied, quit her dreams, and got her “Idol” wristband, making it as...
- 3/16/2011
- by Stephanie Krikorian
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
For five years Jackee Harry teased and taunted us as the sexy vamp Sandra Clark on the hit comedy "227." Today she's crisscrossing the country in J.D. Lawrence's latest play, "Me & Mrs. Jones" co-starring Darrin Dewitt Henson and Eva Marcille. Harry always believed that if "you put it in, you'll get it out," and these days she's working fiercely to stay at the top of her game. In addition to "Me & Mrs. Jones," she's going to star in Bet's upcoming original series "Let's Stay Together." The sassy, bubbly and inspiring actress spoke to Essence.com about everything from what kind of man she's on the hunt for, what TV show she's dying to do, and whether Sandra was a role model.
- 10/29/2010
- Essence
From Paris With Love (Blu-Ray)Lionsgate Home Entertainment2010/Rated R/93 minsList Price $39.99 – Available June 8, 2010What is it with John Travolta and action movies? The actor who has enjoyed a career full of second and third comings has never been able to find the right vehicle within the genre. John Woo's 1997 Face/Off was a fluke because the picture turned out to be an interesting hybrid of brutal action and emotional drama. Travolta is an excellent dramatic actor and has shown some nearly flawless timing in comedic ventures, yet when he attempts to combine the two, he looks rather silly. Face/Off was the exception because Travolta was in fact playing two characters: determined and emotionally scarred FBI agent Sean Archer and the psychotic killer who destroys his life and steals his face Castor Troy. As action packed as that film was it was the psychological duel between Travolta and...
- 6/11/2010
- LRMonline.com
The songwriting/production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff has been the musical force behind over 3500 songs in 35 years, rivaling catalogs by Lennon and McCartney, and even Bacharach and David. Their Philly International label focused on "The Sound Of Philadelphia," was distributed by Clive Davis' Columbia Records group in the seventies, and gave the latter company its most successful R&B chart hits. Almost immediately after signing with the company, Gamble and Huff's combined talents steered the likes of The O'Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Billy Paul, Mfsb, and the Three Degrees into both R&B and Pop's Top Ten with songs such as "Love Train," "Me And Mrs. Jones," "Back Stabbers" and "If You Don't Know Me By Now" becoming as timeless as any single can be. The pair has received many prestigious awards, but none...
- 5/7/2010
- by Mike Ragogna
- Huffington Post
Whether you love his movies or despise them, it's hard to deny that writer-producer Akiva Goldsman is a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.
Sure, Goldsman is responsible for writing the disastrous Batman & Robin, which was recently named the "Worst Movie Ever" by Empire, but he also wrote the screenplay for the multiple Academy Award-winning movie A Beautiful Mind.
Goldsman continues to write (2009's Angels & Demons), but is far more active as a producer. He currently has The Losers in the can, is in post-production on Jonah Hex after a series of reshoots, and has more than a dozen other movies in various stages of development, including several high-profile comic book movie adaptations.
The latest Goldsman news has the prolific producer revisiting his 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which scored big at home and abroad, as well as had the highest domestic grossing of any Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie movie.
Sure, Goldsman is responsible for writing the disastrous Batman & Robin, which was recently named the "Worst Movie Ever" by Empire, but he also wrote the screenplay for the multiple Academy Award-winning movie A Beautiful Mind.
Goldsman continues to write (2009's Angels & Demons), but is far more active as a producer. He currently has The Losers in the can, is in post-production on Jonah Hex after a series of reshoots, and has more than a dozen other movies in various stages of development, including several high-profile comic book movie adaptations.
The latest Goldsman news has the prolific producer revisiting his 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which scored big at home and abroad, as well as had the highest domestic grossing of any Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie movie.
- 2/9/2010
- by BrentJS Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
And we're back again with our (at least) daily announcement of a reboot, sequel, prequel; this time word comes from NY Mag's Vulture that Fox's Regency Enterprises is moving forward with Mr. & Mrs. Jones, a pseudo-prequel to the 2005 action comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith which spawned the paparazzi's even more intense obsession with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. However, the flash to the past will not feature Pitt and Jolie, but rather is sort of an origin story of a similar but differently named couple, showing how a pair of twenty-something spies are set up as a fake married couple when they graduate agency training. How fun. As much as I enjoyed Mr. & Mrs. Smith, this feels cheap to me. Mr. and Mrs. Smith didn't know they were spies when they were married, so that added a decent level of comedy to the fun ...
- 2/9/2010
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Check out new clips from action/thriller “From Paris With Love“
The film stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and concerns a young embassy worker (Meyers) who teams up with an unruly FBI agent (Travolta) to stop a terrorist attack in Paris. Luc Besson is also credited with the film’s story, not unlike many other films he produces. Instead of Besson’s regular screenwriting bud Robert Mark Kamen. Script was written by Adi Hasak.
“From Paris With Love” is directed by Pierre Morel, the man behind “District B13″ and “Taken” thriller and is set to hit theatres on February 5, 2010.
More movie info and trailer you can find at “From Paris with Love” FilmoFilia Movie Page. Also, check out our “From Paris with Love” Photo Gallery (120+ photos)
From Paris With Love Clip 1 – Mrs. Jones:
From Paris With Love Clip 2 – Window Attack:
From Paris With Love Clip 3 – Kiss:...
The film stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and concerns a young embassy worker (Meyers) who teams up with an unruly FBI agent (Travolta) to stop a terrorist attack in Paris. Luc Besson is also credited with the film’s story, not unlike many other films he produces. Instead of Besson’s regular screenwriting bud Robert Mark Kamen. Script was written by Adi Hasak.
“From Paris With Love” is directed by Pierre Morel, the man behind “District B13″ and “Taken” thriller and is set to hit theatres on February 5, 2010.
More movie info and trailer you can find at “From Paris with Love” FilmoFilia Movie Page. Also, check out our “From Paris with Love” Photo Gallery (120+ photos)
From Paris With Love Clip 1 – Mrs. Jones:
From Paris With Love Clip 2 – Window Attack:
From Paris With Love Clip 3 – Kiss:...
- 2/1/2010
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
It’s easy to have all the solutions to someone else’s problems. Like screaming at the screen during a horror movie, you want to heroine to escape, but when you’re in the heat of the moment and there’s a knife to your neck, it’s hard to be logical. She’s going the wrong way. Why didn’t she hit him with the coat rack?
Clareece Precious Jones does not have a knife to her throat — if only her life could be that simple — but you just keep wishing she would break that window and run to safety.
Precious, the film directed by openly gay director Lee Daniels and based on the novel Push by bisexual writer Sapphire, tells the story of 16-year-old Precious Jones, played by actress Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe. Obese, pregnant with her second child and illiterate, you cannot help but wonder how she got to this place.
Clareece Precious Jones does not have a knife to her throat — if only her life could be that simple — but you just keep wishing she would break that window and run to safety.
Precious, the film directed by openly gay director Lee Daniels and based on the novel Push by bisexual writer Sapphire, tells the story of 16-year-old Precious Jones, played by actress Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe. Obese, pregnant with her second child and illiterate, you cannot help but wonder how she got to this place.
- 11/19/2009
- by jen sabella
- The Backlot
Cast: Mark Wahlberg as Elliot Moore, Zooey Deschanel as Alma Moore, John Leguizamo as Julian, Ashlyn Sanchez as Jess, Spencer Breslin as Josh, Betty Buckley as Mrs. Jones and Jeremy Strong as Private Auster. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan Scores: Technical:66 , Story:70 , Acting:59 , Overall Score: 65 Synopsis: The film opens in New York’s Central Park, when people suddenly fall into a strange trance and begin committing suicide. New York, construction workers throw themselves off buildings. Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square, a string [...]...
- 6/25/2008
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
Janet McTeer, who co-scripted "The Intended" with director Kristian Levring, delivers a fearless performance as the title character. That genteel terminology for "fiancee" stands as ironic comment in what amounts to an unrelenting descent into hell for the characters and, to a lesser degree, the audience.
Contributions of the accomplished cast notwithstanding, this period drama takes a few too many spins around the downward spiral, making it hard to believe as well as unpleasant. The U.K.-Danish co-production, which opens Friday in Los Angeles and New York, will have a tough road on the domestic art house circuit.
In 1924, 40ish Sarah (McTeer, who received an Oscar nom for "Tumbleweeds") and her twentysomething lover, Hamish (JJ Feild), arrive in a remote ivory-trading post in an unspecified Asian country. He has taken a job as a surveyor, a lucrative assignment that represents a fresh start for them. Having left behind England's postwar economy and Sarah's unhappy marriage, the couple are full of hope -- until they see the lay of the land and the handful of expats who populate it.
Running the colonial outpost is Mrs. Jones (Brenda Fricker), who, in her short hair and long skirts, resembles a Gertrude Stein whose art is not literature but psychological torture. Her chief victim is her son, William (Tony Maudsley), an overgrown schoolboy in his mid-30s. Countering her emasculating heartlessness is the ghoulish devotion of Erina (Olympia Dukakis), William's one-time nanny. Her fierce loyalty ensnares Sarah in a desperate psychosexual game of survival.
The disastrous cycle of events begins with William's extreme reaction when he learns that his mother intends to leave the business to her nephew (Philip Jackson). Recognizing at last the community's depravity, the resident priest (a haunting turn from David Bradley) surrenders to the heart of darkness, making it clear that nothing good will come of this situation.
Levring, a Danish commercials director whose feature debut was the English-language Dogme film "The King Is Alive", effectively strips away the romance of the exotic through insistently unpretty DV visuals by cinematographer Jens Schlosser. There's a powerful sense of immersion in the Malaysian locations, the humidity and dank green light all but palpable.
Diving into the baser instincts, McTeer and Maudsley hold nothing back. But the story's dark twists sometimes verge on parody, and with most characters so far past the point of no return, it's difficult to care what becomes of them.
Contributions of the accomplished cast notwithstanding, this period drama takes a few too many spins around the downward spiral, making it hard to believe as well as unpleasant. The U.K.-Danish co-production, which opens Friday in Los Angeles and New York, will have a tough road on the domestic art house circuit.
In 1924, 40ish Sarah (McTeer, who received an Oscar nom for "Tumbleweeds") and her twentysomething lover, Hamish (JJ Feild), arrive in a remote ivory-trading post in an unspecified Asian country. He has taken a job as a surveyor, a lucrative assignment that represents a fresh start for them. Having left behind England's postwar economy and Sarah's unhappy marriage, the couple are full of hope -- until they see the lay of the land and the handful of expats who populate it.
Running the colonial outpost is Mrs. Jones (Brenda Fricker), who, in her short hair and long skirts, resembles a Gertrude Stein whose art is not literature but psychological torture. Her chief victim is her son, William (Tony Maudsley), an overgrown schoolboy in his mid-30s. Countering her emasculating heartlessness is the ghoulish devotion of Erina (Olympia Dukakis), William's one-time nanny. Her fierce loyalty ensnares Sarah in a desperate psychosexual game of survival.
The disastrous cycle of events begins with William's extreme reaction when he learns that his mother intends to leave the business to her nephew (Philip Jackson). Recognizing at last the community's depravity, the resident priest (a haunting turn from David Bradley) surrenders to the heart of darkness, making it clear that nothing good will come of this situation.
Levring, a Danish commercials director whose feature debut was the English-language Dogme film "The King Is Alive", effectively strips away the romance of the exotic through insistently unpretty DV visuals by cinematographer Jens Schlosser. There's a powerful sense of immersion in the Malaysian locations, the humidity and dank green light all but palpable.
Diving into the baser instincts, McTeer and Maudsley hold nothing back. But the story's dark twists sometimes verge on parody, and with most characters so far past the point of no return, it's difficult to care what becomes of them.
Janet McTeer, who co-scripted "The Intended" with director Kristian Levring, delivers a fearless performance as the title character. That genteel terminology for "fiancee" stands as ironic comment in what amounts to an unrelenting descent into hell for the characters and, to a lesser degree, the audience.
Contributions of the accomplished cast notwithstanding, this period drama takes a few too many spins around the downward spiral, making it hard to believe as well as unpleasant. The U.K.-Danish co-production, which opens Friday in Los Angeles and New York, will have a tough road on the domestic art house circuit.
In 1924, 40ish Sarah (McTeer, who received an Oscar nom for "Tumbleweeds") and her twentysomething lover, Hamish (JJ Feild), arrive in a remote ivory-trading post in an unspecified Asian country. He has taken a job as a surveyor, a lucrative assignment that represents a fresh start for them. Having left behind England's postwar economy and Sarah's unhappy marriage, the couple are full of hope -- until they see the lay of the land and the handful of expats who populate it.
Running the colonial outpost is Mrs. Jones (Brenda Fricker), who, in her short hair and long skirts, resembles a Gertrude Stein whose art is not literature but psychological torture. Her chief victim is her son, William (Tony Maudsley), an overgrown schoolboy in his mid-30s. Countering her emasculating heartlessness is the ghoulish devotion of Erina (Olympia Dukakis), William's one-time nanny. Her fierce loyalty ensnares Sarah in a desperate psychosexual game of survival.
The disastrous cycle of events begins with William's extreme reaction when he learns that his mother intends to leave the business to her nephew (Philip Jackson). Recognizing at last the community's depravity, the resident priest (a haunting turn from David Bradley) surrenders to the heart of darkness, making it clear that nothing good will come of this situation.
Levring, a Danish commercials director whose feature debut was the English-language Dogme film "The King Is Alive", effectively strips away the romance of the exotic through insistently unpretty DV visuals by cinematographer Jens Schlosser. There's a powerful sense of immersion in the Malaysian locations, the humidity and dank green light all but palpable.
Diving into the baser instincts, McTeer and Maudsley hold nothing back. But the story's dark twists sometimes verge on parody, and with most characters so far past the point of no return, it's difficult to care what becomes of them.
Contributions of the accomplished cast notwithstanding, this period drama takes a few too many spins around the downward spiral, making it hard to believe as well as unpleasant. The U.K.-Danish co-production, which opens Friday in Los Angeles and New York, will have a tough road on the domestic art house circuit.
In 1924, 40ish Sarah (McTeer, who received an Oscar nom for "Tumbleweeds") and her twentysomething lover, Hamish (JJ Feild), arrive in a remote ivory-trading post in an unspecified Asian country. He has taken a job as a surveyor, a lucrative assignment that represents a fresh start for them. Having left behind England's postwar economy and Sarah's unhappy marriage, the couple are full of hope -- until they see the lay of the land and the handful of expats who populate it.
Running the colonial outpost is Mrs. Jones (Brenda Fricker), who, in her short hair and long skirts, resembles a Gertrude Stein whose art is not literature but psychological torture. Her chief victim is her son, William (Tony Maudsley), an overgrown schoolboy in his mid-30s. Countering her emasculating heartlessness is the ghoulish devotion of Erina (Olympia Dukakis), William's one-time nanny. Her fierce loyalty ensnares Sarah in a desperate psychosexual game of survival.
The disastrous cycle of events begins with William's extreme reaction when he learns that his mother intends to leave the business to her nephew (Philip Jackson). Recognizing at last the community's depravity, the resident priest (a haunting turn from David Bradley) surrenders to the heart of darkness, making it clear that nothing good will come of this situation.
Levring, a Danish commercials director whose feature debut was the English-language Dogme film "The King Is Alive", effectively strips away the romance of the exotic through insistently unpretty DV visuals by cinematographer Jens Schlosser. There's a powerful sense of immersion in the Malaysian locations, the humidity and dank green light all but palpable.
Diving into the baser instincts, McTeer and Maudsley hold nothing back. But the story's dark twists sometimes verge on parody, and with most characters so far past the point of no return, it's difficult to care what becomes of them.
- 6/21/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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