The man who did what and then what? Robert D. Krzykowski’s first feature isn’t a throwaway joke, but an elegantly crafted and designed fantasy grounded in human values. Sam Elliott’s crusty sixty-something secret agent comes out of retirement to save the world again — will the slaying of another bizarre horror lay to rest disturbing memories of a secret WW2 mission? This thing will be a pleasant discovery for those in pursuit of ‘something completely different.’ The intentionally awkward title is jarring, but it fits because I’ve never seen anything quite like this before.
The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot
Blu-ray
Rlje Films
2018 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date April 2, 2019 / 29.97
Starring: Sam Elliott, Aidan Turner, Ron Livingston, Sean Bridgers, Caitlin FitzGerald, Larry Miller, Rizwan Manji, Mark Steger, Nikolai Tsankov.
Cinematography: Alex Vendler
Film Editor: Zach Passero
Original Music: Joe Kraemer
Produced by Shaked Barenson,...
The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot
Blu-ray
Rlje Films
2018 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date April 2, 2019 / 29.97
Starring: Sam Elliott, Aidan Turner, Ron Livingston, Sean Bridgers, Caitlin FitzGerald, Larry Miller, Rizwan Manji, Mark Steger, Nikolai Tsankov.
Cinematography: Alex Vendler
Film Editor: Zach Passero
Original Music: Joe Kraemer
Produced by Shaked Barenson,...
- 3/19/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It has never been better to be Sam Elliott than it is now. 2017 brought a wonderful vehicle for the man in The Hero, giving him a lovely showcase. Kudos to filmmaker Brett Haley for doing that, after giving him a plum supporting role in I’ll See You In My Dreams. Obviously, 2018 saw him bring audiences to tears in A Star Is Born, garnering his first ever Academy Award nomination in the process. Now, as the Oscars approach, he starts off 2019 right with a starring role in a project with an amazing title. After all, who wouldn’t want to see something called The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot? Exactly. Opening this Friday, it’s the best release of the year so far. The film is a character study, though one tinged with some interesting action/suspense beats. At first glance, Calvin Barr (Elliott) just appears to be a retired old man.
- 2/7/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
I don’t think I’m making any kind of grand revelation here by declaring that Sam Elliott rules. For anyone who has grown up on a steady stream of badassery from the grizzled actor, he’s proved himself time and time again to be one of the greatest and most enigmatic performers to ever grace the silver screen, and The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot is the perfect showcase for Elliott’s immeasurable talents. And while you might be expecting something a little more bombastic based on the immediately unforgettable title of Robert D. Krzykowski’s stunning debut feature, his story is more interested in taking the introspective route, resulting in an endlessly engaging adventure that manages to pull a few heartstrings along the way.
Ultimately, how Krzykowski frames his narrative is reflected directly in the character of Calvin Barr (Elliott), who, as you can imagine,...
Ultimately, how Krzykowski frames his narrative is reflected directly in the character of Calvin Barr (Elliott), who, as you can imagine,...
- 7/21/2018
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
With The Asylum’s feature The Haunting of Whaley House having released to DVD, Blu-ray, Redbox and Netflix today, we thought it time to chat with director Jose Prendes regarding his film. Read on!
“It seems like only yesterday that I was starting work on the script five months ago (writer’s note: see our exclusive interview with Prendes during production here), said writer and director Prendes, ”when the studio came to me with a proposition for a Whaley House film and I accepted, knowing I could do something unique given the limitations with time and money.”
Produced by The Asylum, The Haunting of Whaley House stars Stephanie Greco as (according to the film’s official synopsis), “Penny, (who) is a skeptic, despite the fact that she works as a tour guide at The Whaley House, considered America's most haunted house. One night her friends convince her to let them...
“It seems like only yesterday that I was starting work on the script five months ago (writer’s note: see our exclusive interview with Prendes during production here), said writer and director Prendes, ”when the studio came to me with a proposition for a Whaley House film and I accepted, knowing I could do something unique given the limitations with time and money.”
Produced by The Asylum, The Haunting of Whaley House stars Stephanie Greco as (according to the film’s official synopsis), “Penny, (who) is a skeptic, despite the fact that she works as a tour guide at The Whaley House, considered America's most haunted house. One night her friends convince her to let them...
- 8/1/2012
- by Sean Decker
- DreadCentral.com
We caught up recently with The Haunting of Whaley House writer and director Jose Prendes, who chatted with Dread openly about the production and also provided us with a handful of exclusive production stills from the now wrapped film. Read on for the skinny!
Produced by The Asylum, The Haunting of Whaley House stars Stephanie Greco as (according to the film’s official synopsis), “Penny, (who) is a skeptic, despite the fact that she works as a tour guide at The Whaley House, considered America's most haunted house. One night her friends convince her to let them into the famous museum to see if it is as haunted as everyone says it is, and they find much more than they bargained for. Just because you don't believe in ghosts doesn't mean they don't believe in you!”
Joining Greco in the festivities is genre vet Lynn Lowry (George Romero’s The Crazies), among others,...
Produced by The Asylum, The Haunting of Whaley House stars Stephanie Greco as (according to the film’s official synopsis), “Penny, (who) is a skeptic, despite the fact that she works as a tour guide at The Whaley House, considered America's most haunted house. One night her friends convince her to let them into the famous museum to see if it is as haunted as everyone says it is, and they find much more than they bargained for. Just because you don't believe in ghosts doesn't mean they don't believe in you!”
Joining Greco in the festivities is genre vet Lynn Lowry (George Romero’s The Crazies), among others,...
- 4/13/2012
- by Sean Decker
- DreadCentral.com
Film review: 'Good Housekeeping'
He's an unemployed collector of Puppetmaster toy action figures; she's a forklift-operating, late-blooming lesbian. Together under the same roof, they are a "white trash" couple who have declared war on each other in the weeks leading up to a date in divorce court.
Screenwriter-director Frank Novak's "Good Housekeeping", winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2000 Slamdance Film Festival, is an amalgamation of such recent movies as "She's So Lovely" and "Another Day in Paradise", with inspiration from reality TV shows like "Cops". A potential cult movie in theaters and on cable and video, "Housekeeping" screens tonight at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood as part of the American Cinematheque's Alternative Screen series.
A low-budget production of Los Angeles-based Modernica Pictures -- a division of Novak (the short "Domestic Disturbance") and his executive producer brother Jay's Modernica furniture company -- "Good" is an accomplished, original work with rowdy, on-the-money performances and a roaringly profane script. The escalating tit-for-tat conflict is on one level a spirited reworking of the classic Laurel & Hardy routines in such shorts as "Big Business", with Don (Bob Mills) refusing to leave the house when Donatella (Petra Westen) tries to kick him out.
The film opens with the first of many visits to the unhappy home of the leads by two ineffectual police officers (Christina Sidrow, David Jean-Thomas), responding to a domestic disturbance call. There appears to be no hope for this couple as both parties are naturally belligerent and take much joy in verbal combat. Caught in the middle, relaying rawly worded and hateful messages between the two, is their wild young son (Andrew Eichner), who seems to side mostly with his father.
When Donatella returns one night from a date with her middle-class lover Marion (Tacey Adams), Don and his buddies, including his homeless brother Chuck (Zia) and heavyweight fellow toy collector Barry (Scooter Stephan), are duly flabbergasted. Not very tall and balding, owner of a motorcycle and old Cordova and clutching and drinking from a beer bottle in every scene, Don shows his macho indignation by building a wall in the middle of the house.
With Chuck and his crack-smoking girlfriend Tiffany (Maeve Kerrigan) living in the precious Cordova, and Monica pushing her to leave the house, Donatella hangs on to spite Don and give back what he dishes out. Several cars and people are banged up, including a showstopping morning-after driving sequence by one of Don's hungover friends (Norma Barbour). The scenario definitely veers toward the satirical with the inclusion of a alarming misogynist (Al Schuermann), who equips Don and his buddies against Donatella's violent nature -- with a portable rocket launcher.
The often hilarious torrent of words coming from the characters has the nonsensical logic of desperate swearers. A fairly tame sample: "I don't care if he sells shit to the pope. He's still an asshole." Beyond the shouting matches and scenes of destruction and crazy tangents -- like what happens to Chuck's poor girlfriend -- the film pays special attention to the vulnerable underbellies of all involved. Kudos to Mills, Westen, Adams and the entire cast for keeping it all together, performance-wise.
The soundtrack includes many "stoner rock" standards ("Free Bird") to go with the nonstop partying. With gloriously trashy-looking sets designed by Elizabeth Burhop and outstanding cinematography by Alex Vendler ("The Bible and Gun Club"), "Good" even gets away with a mildly disappointing ending.
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Modernica Pictures
Screenwriter-director:Frank Novak
Producer:Mark Mathis
Executive producer:Jay Novak
Director of photography:Alex Vendler
Production designer:Elizabeth Burhop
Editor:Fritz Feick
Costume designer:Katie Meehan
Color/stereo
Cast:
Don:Bob Mills
Donatella:Petra Westen
Marion:Tacey Adams
Don Jr.:Andrew Eichner
Chuck:Zia
Tiffany:Maeve Kerrigan
Barry:Scooter Stephan
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Screenwriter-director Frank Novak's "Good Housekeeping", winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2000 Slamdance Film Festival, is an amalgamation of such recent movies as "She's So Lovely" and "Another Day in Paradise", with inspiration from reality TV shows like "Cops". A potential cult movie in theaters and on cable and video, "Housekeeping" screens tonight at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood as part of the American Cinematheque's Alternative Screen series.
A low-budget production of Los Angeles-based Modernica Pictures -- a division of Novak (the short "Domestic Disturbance") and his executive producer brother Jay's Modernica furniture company -- "Good" is an accomplished, original work with rowdy, on-the-money performances and a roaringly profane script. The escalating tit-for-tat conflict is on one level a spirited reworking of the classic Laurel & Hardy routines in such shorts as "Big Business", with Don (Bob Mills) refusing to leave the house when Donatella (Petra Westen) tries to kick him out.
The film opens with the first of many visits to the unhappy home of the leads by two ineffectual police officers (Christina Sidrow, David Jean-Thomas), responding to a domestic disturbance call. There appears to be no hope for this couple as both parties are naturally belligerent and take much joy in verbal combat. Caught in the middle, relaying rawly worded and hateful messages between the two, is their wild young son (Andrew Eichner), who seems to side mostly with his father.
When Donatella returns one night from a date with her middle-class lover Marion (Tacey Adams), Don and his buddies, including his homeless brother Chuck (Zia) and heavyweight fellow toy collector Barry (Scooter Stephan), are duly flabbergasted. Not very tall and balding, owner of a motorcycle and old Cordova and clutching and drinking from a beer bottle in every scene, Don shows his macho indignation by building a wall in the middle of the house.
With Chuck and his crack-smoking girlfriend Tiffany (Maeve Kerrigan) living in the precious Cordova, and Monica pushing her to leave the house, Donatella hangs on to spite Don and give back what he dishes out. Several cars and people are banged up, including a showstopping morning-after driving sequence by one of Don's hungover friends (Norma Barbour). The scenario definitely veers toward the satirical with the inclusion of a alarming misogynist (Al Schuermann), who equips Don and his buddies against Donatella's violent nature -- with a portable rocket launcher.
The often hilarious torrent of words coming from the characters has the nonsensical logic of desperate swearers. A fairly tame sample: "I don't care if he sells shit to the pope. He's still an asshole." Beyond the shouting matches and scenes of destruction and crazy tangents -- like what happens to Chuck's poor girlfriend -- the film pays special attention to the vulnerable underbellies of all involved. Kudos to Mills, Westen, Adams and the entire cast for keeping it all together, performance-wise.
The soundtrack includes many "stoner rock" standards ("Free Bird") to go with the nonstop partying. With gloriously trashy-looking sets designed by Elizabeth Burhop and outstanding cinematography by Alex Vendler ("The Bible and Gun Club"), "Good" even gets away with a mildly disappointing ending.
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Modernica Pictures
Screenwriter-director:Frank Novak
Producer:Mark Mathis
Executive producer:Jay Novak
Director of photography:Alex Vendler
Production designer:Elizabeth Burhop
Editor:Fritz Feick
Costume designer:Katie Meehan
Color/stereo
Cast:
Don:Bob Mills
Donatella:Petra Westen
Marion:Tacey Adams
Don Jr.:Andrew Eichner
Chuck:Zia
Tiffany:Maeve Kerrigan
Barry:Scooter Stephan
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/17/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'The Bible and Gun Club'
A knockout feature debut from South African-born filmmaker Daniel J. Harris, "The Bible and Gun Club" boasts a different breed of men in black in an original ensemble comedy-satire with consistently superior dialogue, excellent black-and-white imagery and nearly flawless performances from a cast of unknowns.
An award winner at the 1997 Slamdance and Locarno festivals, "Gun Club" screened in the Los Angeles area as part of the American Cinematheque's "The Alternative Screen" series and might talk its way into a deserved distribution deal.
Producer-writer-director Harris spins a bizarre tale of five middle-aged salesmen who peddle deluxe editions of the Bible and an array of lethal weapons, from "pansy poppers" to shotguns. "We believe in a well-armed and well-read family," says ex-L.A. cop Phil (Don Yanan) to a customer, and these out-of-shape rednecks are good at their job.
The loosely plotted scenario follows the Anaheim chapter of the national Bible and Gun Club on its fateful trip to Las Vegas for a convention. Led by Korean War veteran Bill (Al Schuermann), the group includes unpredictable Phil and his depressed partner Stan (Andy Kallok), ex-pro golfer Mike Julian Ott) and old-timer Sidney (Robert Blumenthal), the one "kike" in the gang.
In scene after twisted scene, Harris and the cast delve further into the American experience by way of fundamentalist gangsters cashing in on militia-era paranoia, fighting over trailer parks and running wild in Glitter Gulch. Along with the principal losers, there is a lively bunch of lowlifes and bit players all beautifully captured in their seediness and vulnerability by Alex Vendler with evocative cinema verite camerawork.
Delivering a sincere pitch for the Bible, Alfred Vass as a legitimately religious person addressing the troops is memorable, and Tom "TR" Richards plays the club's godfather with grace and intelligence. From witty scenes on the golf course to a close encounter with porn stars, including Harris playing a prima donna director of adult videos, "Gun Club" is a crazy ride that comes to an abrupt end, but it's entertaining and challenging.
As the bloated, prejudiced leads, Harris' fearless cast couldn't be better, with Yanan and Schuermann (a former door-to-door insurance salesman) making the biggest impressions. Harris ("The Simpsons", "The Ren & Stimpy Show") manages to say a great deal about American culture in the 1990s without preaching, and he shows a rare talent for both comedic and dramatic writing.
THE BIBLE AND GUN CLUB
Big in Vegas Pictures
Producer-writer-director: Daniel J. Harris
Executive producers: Ariel Perets, Pierre Sevigny
Director of photography: Alex Vendler
Editor: Christopher Hink
Music: Shawn Patterson
Production designer: Dominique Blaskovich
Black & white/stereo
Cast:
Stan: Andy Kallok
Phil: Don Yanan
Bill: Al Schuermann
Mike: Julian Ott
Sidney: Robert Blumenthal
Father Dent: Alfred Vass
Jack Ford: Tom "TR" Richards
Running time - 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
An award winner at the 1997 Slamdance and Locarno festivals, "Gun Club" screened in the Los Angeles area as part of the American Cinematheque's "The Alternative Screen" series and might talk its way into a deserved distribution deal.
Producer-writer-director Harris spins a bizarre tale of five middle-aged salesmen who peddle deluxe editions of the Bible and an array of lethal weapons, from "pansy poppers" to shotguns. "We believe in a well-armed and well-read family," says ex-L.A. cop Phil (Don Yanan) to a customer, and these out-of-shape rednecks are good at their job.
The loosely plotted scenario follows the Anaheim chapter of the national Bible and Gun Club on its fateful trip to Las Vegas for a convention. Led by Korean War veteran Bill (Al Schuermann), the group includes unpredictable Phil and his depressed partner Stan (Andy Kallok), ex-pro golfer Mike Julian Ott) and old-timer Sidney (Robert Blumenthal), the one "kike" in the gang.
In scene after twisted scene, Harris and the cast delve further into the American experience by way of fundamentalist gangsters cashing in on militia-era paranoia, fighting over trailer parks and running wild in Glitter Gulch. Along with the principal losers, there is a lively bunch of lowlifes and bit players all beautifully captured in their seediness and vulnerability by Alex Vendler with evocative cinema verite camerawork.
Delivering a sincere pitch for the Bible, Alfred Vass as a legitimately religious person addressing the troops is memorable, and Tom "TR" Richards plays the club's godfather with grace and intelligence. From witty scenes on the golf course to a close encounter with porn stars, including Harris playing a prima donna director of adult videos, "Gun Club" is a crazy ride that comes to an abrupt end, but it's entertaining and challenging.
As the bloated, prejudiced leads, Harris' fearless cast couldn't be better, with Yanan and Schuermann (a former door-to-door insurance salesman) making the biggest impressions. Harris ("The Simpsons", "The Ren & Stimpy Show") manages to say a great deal about American culture in the 1990s without preaching, and he shows a rare talent for both comedic and dramatic writing.
THE BIBLE AND GUN CLUB
Big in Vegas Pictures
Producer-writer-director: Daniel J. Harris
Executive producers: Ariel Perets, Pierre Sevigny
Director of photography: Alex Vendler
Editor: Christopher Hink
Music: Shawn Patterson
Production designer: Dominique Blaskovich
Black & white/stereo
Cast:
Stan: Andy Kallok
Phil: Don Yanan
Bill: Al Schuermann
Mike: Julian Ott
Sidney: Robert Blumenthal
Father Dent: Alfred Vass
Jack Ford: Tom "TR" Richards
Running time - 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/5/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.