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Andrew Stevens pays loving but not hagiographic tribute to his late mother, famed actress Stella Stevens, in his documentary recently showcased at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. The film convincingly makes the case that its subject, best known for her performances in such pictures as The Poseidon Adventure and The Nutty Professor, is severely underrated, both as an actress and social activist. Stella Stevens: The Last Starlet aims to rectify that perception and, thanks to numerous clips of her work and effusive commentary by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Vivica A. Fox, it succeeds beautifully.

The filmmaker (who appears frequently) admits that his relationship with his mother was rocky, to say the least, in the early years. Born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Stevens got married at age 16 and had Andrew, her first and only child, six months later. The marriage soon dissolved, and when she moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career,...

In the seventh episode of Sister Boniface Mysteries’ second series, the quiet town of Great Slaughter is abuzz with excitement over the upcoming talent show, which offers a substantial cash prize and features a celebrity judge, the renowned actress Jane Beaufort (Antonia Kinlay). However, the atmosphere takes a dark turn when the ambitious magician, Terry […]

Sister Boniface Mysteries: Death of a Showman...

Filming has begun on the fourth season of the BBC Studios Drama production Sister Boniface Mysteries, a BritBox International and UKTV co-production created by Jude Tindall. The show will also return for another feature-length Christmas special this December, written by Jude Tindall and directed by Paul Gibson.

Lorna Watson is back as TV’s number one Vespa-driving, crime-solving Catholic nun alongside Max Brown as Di Sam Gillespie, Jerry Iwu as DS Felix Livingstone, and Ami Metcalf as Wpc Peggy Button.

Courtesy of BritBox International

Season four’s guest stars include Les Dennis (Coronation Street), Katherine Kingsley (The Larkins), Martyn Ellis (Renegade Nell), Mina Anwar (The Sarah Jane Adventures), Ed Birch (The Witcher), and Daniel Laurie (Call the Midwife).

Returning by popular demand, this year’s feature-length festive special features the Great Slaughter Amateur Dramatics Society (Gsads) pantomime. This year, it’s Cinderella, and with the appointment of a celebrity director,...

The 2024 edition of Bisff was as indicative as a festival could be, both for the short film industry and cinema in the region overall. For starters, and as we mentioned many times before, the Korean short films nowadays seems to have made significant progress, to the point that it can be more interesting searching among them than in the feature ones. Titles like “Eyes”, “Hunted Owl Family” and “I'm Here to See The House” highlight the fact in the most eloquent fashion. At the same time, and as we move further in Asian, the rather interesting mixture of documentary and fiction comes to the fore, occasionally finding its apogee in some of the titles featured here, with reality proving, once more, that provides better scripts that people's imagination.

Without further ado, here is a rundown of all the titles we reviewed for the 2024 edition of Busan International Short Film Festival Reviews,...

The blights of patriarchy, which seem to be quite prevalent even today in Korean society, have been examined a number of times recently, particularly by women filmmakers, both in fiction and documentaries. Another aspect of the issue though, that of the burden placed on men, is seldom (if ever) portrayed in the cinema of the country. Yun Do-yeong tries to fill the gap with his latest short, which takes place in a slaughterhouse.

Slaughter screened at Busan International Short Film Festival

The movie begins with a style that points towards the documentary, as the camera follows a man inside a slaughterhouse. A rather brief but tense scene essentially begins the real narrative, highlighting the discomfort the protagonist, Sang-woo, feels, something that actually continues in the next scenes. The fact that he is being admonished by a colleague for not doing a good job cleaning the restrooms adds to his discomfort...

Universal Orlando has just announced Slaughter Sinema 2 as a haunted house for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights (Hhn 33) event. This sequel to the Slaughter Sinema House in 2018 will feature eight fake films.

Haunted House Announcement: Slaughter Sinema 2

If you’re dying for a b-movie horror marathon, head to the Carey Drive-in. Scream through scenes from creature features, grindhouse gore, spaghetti westerns and more. Tix now on sale: https://t.co/n1FE63M2dI #Hhn #HHN33 pic.twitter.com/UonKsZD1R1

— Halloween Horror Nights (@HorrorNightsORL) May 17, 2024

This will be one of the ten houses set for the event in 2024. Halloween Horror Nights will run from August 30 – November 3 at the Universal Orlando Resort.

Tickets are on sale now!

What do you think? Comment and let us know!

The post Universal Orlando Announces Slaughter Sinema 2 House For Hhn 33 appeared first on Pirates & Princesses.

Today is a big day for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre video game, as Gun Interactive has brought a new Map (“The Mill”) and a new Survivor (“Virginia”) into the slasher madness.

The team explains, “Today, Virginia joins the ranks of the Victims, a character voiced by and based on the likeness of the horror queen herself, Barbara Crampton.

“And The Mill, the new multi-level, high-intensity map, is now available. Between Virginia’s unique medicinal abilities and the extreme verticality of The Mill, this latest Dlc drop is the biggest shake up to the gameplay of Texas since launch!”

Additionally, “PC players can take advantage of the Free Weekend, running from today, 3/28/24 at 1Pm Edt through 4/1/24 at 1 Pm Edt. For first time buyers, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will be at a 50% discount and Family character Nancy will be Free with purchase.

“For players who already own the game, Nancy...

Peacock has picked up The Good Daughter, a limited series psychological suspense thriller starring and executive produced by Jessica Biel.

Pieces of Her author Karin Slaughter will write all episodes and executive produce the project, from Fifth Season and Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories, which is based on Slaughter’s New York Times bestselling novel The Good Daughter.

The package was taken out at the start of 2024, garnering interest and eventually landing at Peacock with a series order.

In The Good Daughter, sisters Charlotte (Biel) and Samantha Quinn have spent the last twenty-eight years trying to piece together the lives that were fractured by a single night of violence. When another attack splinters the small town of Pikeville, Charlotte is the first witness on the scene. Now a lawyer like her father, she’s forced to confront her own demons as the case twists through one shocking revelation after another.

Jessica Biel is set to star in a limited series adaptation of the Karin Slaughter novel “The Good Daughter” at Peacock, Variety has learned.

Biel will also executive produce the series under her Iron Ocean banner, with Slaughter set to adapt her book for the screen in her television writing debut. Bruna Papandrea will also executive produce via Made Up Stories.

The official description of the series states: “Sisters Charlotte (Biel) and Samantha Quinn have spent the last twenty-eight years trying to piece together the lives that were fractured by a single night of violence. When another attack splinters the small town of Pikeville, Charlotte is the first witness on the scene. Now a lawyer like her father, she’s forced to confront her own demons as the case twists through one shocking revelation after another. In the end, both she and Samantha find themselves wondering if the price of...

George A. Romero’s zombie horror classic, Dawn of the Dead, is returning to theaters in North America in celebration of its 45th anniversary.

Throughout April and May, the film will screen at more than 90 theaters and drive-ins across the US and Canada. Notably, there will be showings at the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania (where Dawn of the Dead was film) and at the Row House Theatre in Pittsburgh (the city where the film originally premiered in the US in 1979). Find a complete list of screenings below and ticket info here.

To coincide with the film’s re-release, on March 12th, Fright-Rags is releasing a pair of 45th anniversary Dawn of the Dead T-shirts and a special trading card set.

A sequel of sorts to Romero’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead tells the story of a group of survivors during a zombie outbreak...

Embattled shock rocker Marilyn Manson will return to the stage on a 2024 North American tour supporting headliner Five Finger Death Punch. The dates will mark Manson’s first shows since a bevy of sexual assault accusations effectively put a halt to his career.

The 26-date outing, which also features Slaughter to Prevail, kicks off August 2nd in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and runs through a September 19th show in Houston, Texas.

A Live Nation pre-sale starts Wednesday, March 13th, at 10 a.m. local time using the code Key, while artist pre-sales begin as early as Monday, March 11th. General sales start Friday, March 15th, at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster. Fans can also look for deals or get tickets to sold-out dates via StubHub, where your purchase is 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s Fan Protect program.

The inclusion of Manon on the bill comes as a major surprise, considering he was essentially...

In this week’s episode of “Biography: WWE Legends” titled “Sgt. Slaughter,” airing on Sunday, March 3, 2024, at 9:00 Pm on A&e, viewers are in for an in-depth look at one of the most iconic figures in professional wrestling history.

Sgt. Slaughter’s storied career is explored, showcasing his multifaceted persona that captivated audiences worldwide. Whether he was playing the role of the villainous drill instructor, the patriotic American Hero, or the controversial Iraqi Sympathizer, Sgt. Slaughter always commanded attention and remained a main event attraction.

Through exclusive interviews, archival footage, and expert analysis, this episode provides insight into Sgt. Slaughter’s impact on the wrestling industry and his enduring legacy. Viewers can expect to gain a deeper understanding of the man behind the character, his motivations, and the challenges he faced throughout his career.

Don’t miss “Sgt. Slaughter” on “Biography: WWE Legends,” airing on A&e at 9:00 Pm this Sunday,...

The first Dlc update content for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre video game is headed our way on October 24, 2023, Gun Interactive has announced this morning.

The full lineup of update content dropping just in time for Halloween includes:

Leatherface – $15.99 Victim Outfit Packs – $4.99 The Slaughter Family Bloody Skins Pack – $4.99 Outfit Pack Bundle – $19.99

The “Outfit Pack Bundle” includes All of the new Victim Outfit Packs And the Slaughter Family Bloody Skins Pack, while the Nicotero Leatherface skin is only available as a solo offering.

As we recently learned, makeup effects artist Greg Nicotero (Day of the Dead, “The Walking Dead”) has joined the team to create a brand new, never-before-seen Leatherface skin.

Nicotero Leatherface will be available for $15.99, and the Premium Dlc pack includes the new mask & outfit skin, a brand new signature kill, and exclusive saw with custom sound.

You can learn more about Nicotero Leatherface right here.

The post ‘The...

Fox’s Tubi and Dan Abrams’ Law&Crime have teamed up on a true-crime series, “Behind the Crime.” The limited series will launch Sept. 20 with an episode about the 2019 murder of rapper Nipsey Hussle.

Per the show’s logline, “Behind the Crime” “dives deep into the inner workings of the justice system with gripping cases that give viewers unfiltered access with real case footage.” Each installment “examines the crime from the investigation, to the trial, and ultimately, the verdict as told from the intimate perspective of those closest to the case– the legal teams, jurors, and law enforcement, as well as the family and friends of the victims and the defendants.”

Following the Sept. 20 premiere, “Behind the Crime: The Nipsey Hussle Murder,” which follows “the murder trial, story, and case of rap icon and street legend Nipsey Hussle” and is told using accounts from the people involved and “real footage from the tragic event,...

Listening to Wytch Finger feels like you’re watching a cult horror film straight out of the late 70s. Channeling bits of your favorite era horror soundtracks like Suspiria or Assault on Precinct 13, combined with a layer of authentic sound effects, Wytch Finger uses sound and music to tell a story wrapped in a retro horror soundscape.

The duo’s debut EP The Dance is streaming now on Spotify and Apple Music, and a limited release with interstitials featuring foley sound effects and immersive soundscapes is coming later this year on vinyl and cassette.

A secretive cult abducts the perfect vessel for the return of their idol, and through a bygone ceremony sacrifice her and themselves to be reborn as an undead army. An ancient evil has returned and the celebration has begun.

The Dance Track Listing

I The Offering

II The Transformation

III The Arrival

IV The Dance

V...

Slaughter Beach, Dog have readied their next album, Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling. The LP arrives in full September 22nd via Lame-o Records, and along with the news, the band have announced a new run of North American tour dates and shared the record’s first single, “Float Away.”

Since releasing 2020’s At the Moonbase, Slaughter Beach, Dog frontman Jake Ewald moved from his longtime home of Philadelphia to the Poconos Mountains. This move upstate inspired the artist to listen to folksy singer-songwriters like Neil Young, Randy Newman, and Tom Waits. You can hear their influence in “Float Away,” an upbeat ode to the Delaware River in which a content Ewald sings, “We’re never gonna make it back to New York now.”

After wrapping up a UK tour this summer, Slaughter Beach, Dog will support Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling with a North American tour that extends into the new year.

The man born Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri but known to millions of pro wrestling fans as The Iron Sheik has died. He was 81.

His death was announced on his official Twitter page. “It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of The Iron Sheik,” the announcement reads, “but we also take solace unknowing that he departed this world peacefully, leaving behind a legacy that will endure for generations to come.”

A cause of death was not disclosed. Read the entire statement below.

According to his official bio at the WWE website, Vaziri was an amateur wrestler in his native Iran before becoming a leading star and top villain, or “heel,” of professional wrestling during the World Wrestling Federation’s heyday in the 1980s. He had relocated to the United States in the early 1970s to work for as a wrestling coach and trainer for the U.

Marlene Clark, an actor who appeared on “Sanford and Son,” the horror movie “Ganja & Hess” and several other films of the ’60s and ’70s, died on May 18. She was 85.

Clark starred in several films ahead of landing her breakout role as Lamont Lawson’s (played by Demond Wilson) wife Janet in “Sanford and Son.” She later starred in the 1973 horror movie “Ganja & Hess” alongside Duane Jones.

Clark was born and raised in Harlem, N.Y., and spent time in West Virginia during her summers. She returned to New York after attending Morristown Jr. College in Tennessee and enrolled in City College. While at school, Clark participated in school plays, igniting her interest in the acting world.

Clark later moved to Los Angeles with her then-husband Billy Dee Williams. She began her career in entertainment as a fashion model before landing her first role in the 1968 film “For Love of Ivy.

Marlene Clark, best known for her portrayals of Lamont’s girlfriend Janet in the 1970s NBC sitcom Sanford & Son and as Ganja Meda in the 1973 horror film Ganja & Hess, has died.

Demond Wilson, who played Lamont on Sanford & Son, paid tribute to Clark on Twitter, writing “Rip beautiful actress Marlene Clark. . . It was a delight to work with you…,” noting she died on May 18. Wilson listed her age as 73, but that has not been confirmed.

Clark joined Sanford & Son in the comedy’s fifth season in 1976 as a recurring opposite Wilson, remaining through the series’ final season the following year.

Raised in the Harlem section of New York City, Clark was a fashion model before her transition to acting.

Her earliest work began in films in the 1960s including For Love of Ivy opposite Sidney Poitier and Putney Swope in 1969, directed by Robert Downey Sr. She went...

Marlene Clark, the statuesque actress who portrayed Lamont’s fiancée on Sanford and Son and stood out in such 1970s’ films as Ganja & Hess, Switchblade Sisters and Slaughter, has died. She was 85.

Clark died May 18 in her home in Los Angeles, her family announced. No cause of death was revealed.

Clark also starred as a reptilian seductress in Roger Corman’s Night of the Cobra Woman (1972) and as one of the suspected werewolves in the British horror film The Beast Must Die (1974), and she was an early victim in the Larry Hagman-directed Beware! The Blob (1972).

Clark played John Saxon‘s secretary in Enter the Dragon (1973), starring Bruce Lee, and her big-screen body of work also included Black Mamba (1974), Newman’s Law (1974), Lord Shango (1975) and The Baron (1977), where she appeared opposite her Beast Must Die onscreen husband, Calvin Lockhart.

In the surreal Ganja & Hess (1973), directed by Bill Gunn,...

Jim Brown was everything. He was the greatest football player of all time, a trailblazing Black movie star, a vital voice during the Civil Rights Movement, and a man around whom controversy persistently swirled because he did not give a single, solitary f**k ... to a fault.

Brown was a model of American manhood. He played nine seasons of football as the Cleveland Browns running back, and he made the Pro Bowl in every one. Brown averaged 5.2 yards per carry for his career (third-best of all-time) and did so by scrapping for every inch inbounds. He blasted into defenders with rib-cracking velocity. He took his lumps (which were bruisingly visible in his later years), but when you tackled Brown you got the worst of it. The man didn't believe in running to the sideline. He ran through you.

Brown was also a model of defiance at a time when Black...

Some sad news has come in to end the week, as it has been announced that legendary NFL player-turned-actor Jim Brown has passed at the age of 87. His passing was announced by his wife on Instagram, with no cause of death being provided.

Born on February 17, 1936, in St. Simons Islang, Georgia, Brown is considered to be one of the greatest football players of all time. He was drafted out of Syracuse University by the Cleveland Browns in 1957, and spent all nine years of his NFL career with the team. Deadline notes that “his bruising running style redefined the running back position”. He was the first NFL player to make over 100 career rushing touchdowns and set single season and career rushing records. He was a three time Mvp, Rookie of the Year, eight time All-Pro, and eight time rushing leader. With him on the team, the Browns won the NFL championship...

Jim Brown, among the NFL’s greatest players at any position who went on to star in Hollywood Films like “The Dirty Dozen” and “Any Given Sunday,” has died, his wife Monique Brown said Friday on Instagram. He was 87.

Brown’s singular dominance in the NFL of the late 1950s and 1960s was unmatched. Brown made the Pro Bowl in every season from 1957-1965, was a three-time Mvp, and won a championship with the Cleveland Browns in 1964. Of his nine seasons, he led the league in rushing yards for eight, and held most of the league’s major rushing records upon his retirement.

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A post shared by Jim Brown (@jimbrown)

Brown was born in St. Simons Island, Georgia, the son of a pro boxer and a homemaker. He excelled at every sport he tried, from football and baseball to lacrosse and track. His average of 38 points per game,...

Jim Brown, the NFL titan who appeared in “The Dirty Dozen,” many Blaxploitation films plus Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday,” “The Running Man,” Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks” and Spike Lee’s “He Got Game,” to name a few, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 87.

His wife Monique posted the news of his death on Instagram, saying, “He passed peacefully last night at our L.A. home.”

In nine extraordinary seasons as a fullback with the Cleveland Browns, Brown set an array of NFL records. In 2002, The Sporting News named him the greatest professional football player ever. That phenomenal athleticism and a charismatic personality made him bankable as the first African American action star.

“On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Monique and their family,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Jim Brown was a gifted athlete — one of the most dominant players to...

Jim Brown, the incomparable Cleveland Browns fullback who quit the NFL at the peak of his prowess to become a Hollywood action hero in such films as The Dirty Dozen, Ice Station Zebra and 100 Rifles, has died. He was 87.

A staunch advocate for civil rights, Brown died in his Los Angeles home Thursday night with wife Monique by his side, his family’s spokesperson told the Associated Press.

In a statement, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell praised Brown’s skills on the field, in addition to calling him a “cultural figure who helped promote change.” The message continued, “During his nine-year NFL career, which coincided with the civil rights movement here at home, he became a forerunner and role model for athletes being involved in social initiatives outside their sport. He inspired fellow athletes to make a difference, especially in the communities in which they lived.”

A synthesis of speed,...

"Django Unchained", the eighth movie by Quentin Tarantino, wouldn't have been a hit with a different writer-director attached. By that point, Tarantino had become a trusted brand all to himself, and his name alone was enough to sell a film; like a movie about a freed enslaved person set in the 1850s. Sold as an homage to the Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s and Sergio Corbucci's "Django," in particular, Tarantino himself didn't necessarily think "Django Unchained" fell into quite the same category as those films. "I don't know if 'Django' is a Western proper," he told the New York Times. "It's a Southern. I'm playing western stories in the genre, but with a southern backdrop."

Will Smith was famously in line to play the lead before eventually passing on the role because it wasn't enough of a star vehicle. Smith would have given a fine performance, but there's one problem.

Will Trent is staying on the case at ABC.

The Disney-owned broadcast network has handed out a second-season renewal for its drama series Will Trent, starring and produced by Ramón Rodríguez.

“We’re so thankful to our ABC and Hulu fans for joining us on this wild ride and watching Will Trent. When we set out to bring the series to television screens, we wanted to do justice to the gritty, thrilling world that Karin Slaughter created with her best-selling book series. Liz Heldens, Dan Thomsen and the creative team have developed complex and nuanced characters that people are relating to on a human level — and it hasn’t hurt having our little star, Betty, on the call sheet. We’re so excited for the opportunity to dive deeper into these stories with season two,” Rodríguez said in a statement announcing the pickup Tuesday.

The drama based on Slaughter’s...

Stella Stevens, the screen siren of the 1960s who brought sweet sexiness to such films as The Nutty Professor, Too Late Blues and The Ballad of Cable Hogue, has died. She was 84.

Stevens died Friday in Los Angeles, her son, actor-producer-director Andrew Stevens, told The Hollywood Reporter. “She had been in hospice for quite some time with Stage 7 Alzheimer’s,” he said.

Shining brightest in light comedies, the blond, blue-eyed actress appeared as a shy beauty contestant from Montana in Vincente Minnelli’s The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963), portrayed a headstrong nun in Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows! (1968) opposite Rosalind Russell and frolicked with the fun-loving Dean Martin in two films: the Matt Helm spy spoof The Silencers (1966) and How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968).

Stevens also starred opposite Elvis Presley in Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962), a movie she said she detested.

Her signature role, however, came in The Nutty Professor (1963), produced,...

Book adaptations became a regular part of the Hollywood narrative in the 2000s, and the craze doesn’t appear to be fading anytime soon. ABC has even jumped on board with their latest television drama, Will Trent, based on a book series by Karin Slaughter. But adaptations always come with loyal fanbases who just want to see their favorite books translated well onscreen. And sometimes, they are very unhappy with the finished product.

Ramón Rodríguez as Will Trent | ABC/Danny Delgado ABC adapted the ‘Will Trent’ book series into a television show

Will Trent, the ABC show, premiered in January 2023 and revolves around Will Trent, played by Ramón Rodríguez. Will is a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent with the highest clearance rate, but he also has a troubled past.

The network adapted Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent book series for television, and they have a lot of source material to work with.

Many people are loving ABC‘s new crime procedural, Will Trent, based on the Karin Slaughter book series of the same name. Part of the show’s success has to do with its star, Ramón Rodriguez, who perfectly captures all of Will Trent’s quirks. In a recent interview, Rodriguez shared which scene in the pilot’s script made him “hooked” on the titular character.

‘Will Trent’ star Ramón Rodriguez | Matt Miller/ABC Ramón Rodriguez plays the titular character in ‘Will Trent’

In the show, Ramón Rodriguez stars as Will Trent, a Special Agent at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Will grew up in Atlanta’s foster care system, where he endured emotional and physical trauma. He also has dyslexia, which poses challenges for him at times. However, none of that has stopped Will from becoming the agent with the highest clearance rate at the Gbi. His harsh upbringing motivates...

Click here to read the full article.

ABC is adding to its midseason roster.

The Disney-backed broadcaster has handed out a series order to Will Trent, the Ramon Rodriguez-led drama based on Karin Slaughter’s book series.

The series, which was originally ordered with a cast-contingent pickup, revolves around special agent Will Trent (Rodriguez) of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. But now, determined to use his unique point of view to make sure no one is abandoned like he was, Will Trent has the highest clearance rate in the Gbi.

Rodriguez (Marvel’s Iron Fist and The Defenders as well as Fox’s Gang Related) leads a cast that also includes Erika Christensen, Iantha Richardson, Jake McLaughlin and Sonja Sohn.

Liz Heldens (The Passage, Friday Night Lights) and Dan Thomsen serve as...

Exclusive: Billy Slaughter (The Card Counter) has boarded Amazon Studios’ film The Burial, which is currently in production in New Orleans.

He joins an ensemble that also includes Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Bill Camp, Dorian Missick, Pamela Reed, Amanda Warren, Jim Klock and Alan Ruck, as previously announced.

Director Maggie Betts’ film is based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr. It follows a charismatic personal injury lawyer famous for his impressive track record and loudly unconventional approach who decides to help a funeral home owner save his family business from a predatory corporate behemoth. In a move to bring emotional resonance to a dry contract law case, the lawyer digs up an unexpected and complex web of race, power and oppression that forces everyone to examine long-buried prejudices they didn’t know they had.

Details with regard to the character Slaughter is playing have not been disclosed.

Illustration by Jeff CashvanMovie-lovers!Welcome back to The Deuce Notebook, a collaboration between Mubi Notebook and The Deuce Film Series, our monthly event at Nitehawk Williamsburg that excavates the facts and fantasies of cinema's most infamous block in the world: 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. For each screening, my co-hosts and I pick a flick that we think embodies the era of all-night moviegoing down the “Flamboyant Floodway,” and present the theater at which it premiered.Back in October 2013, for our second screening at Nitehawk, we presented Abel Ferrara’s second feature—so, we thought for our second Mubi column we would feature the film a second time. You dig?Every screening concludes with our 'famous' raffle, the grand prize of which is always an original poster by the 'Maestro’ Jeff Cashvan. Enter for your chance to win Jeff’s one-sheet above by shooting us an email and saying ciao: thedeucefilmseries@gmail.

As with every episode of Shameless, “Slaughter” opens with a meta “Previously On” segment introduced by one of our characters, in this case Ian just trying to enjoy some peace and quiet in the bath. As always, he is put out by our need for a refresher, judging us for failing to properly recall what happened in the…...

This Shameless review contains spoilers.

Shameless Season 11 Episode 5

“One again it’s up to Frank Gallagher to save the neighborhood.”

At several points season 11 of Shameless has reminded me of Weeds’s messy final year. This is not a positive comparison, but Shameless’s “Slaughter” creates several parallels between these Showtime series and the dissolution of their central families. Weeds doesn’t end on a perfect note, but its finale at least attempts something deeply ambitious. Shameless is headed down similar territory with its characters, but it’s not a show that’s ever stylistically rocked the boat. This has led to a final season that has largely felt aimless, which is true to life sometimes, especially when the majority of a series’ characters are caught in ruts.

This can be an exciting way to explore character development and push individuals forward when it happens early on or in the...

Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown, and Muhammad Ali walk into a motel room. No really, this isn’t a put-on. It’s an event that actually happened (more or less) on the night that Ali won the heavyweight championship of the world in 1964, and right before he changed his name from Cassius Clay. Now what these four historic figures at the intersection of Black male celebrity and wider American pop culture said to each other that evening is unknown… but it makes the mind wander; it also makes for a hell of a good story in One Night in Miami.

The new film from director Regina King marks the Oscar and Emmy winning actor’s first foray into feature-length directing intended for the big screen—even as most audiences will only see One Night in Miami on Amazon when it premieres on the streaming service later this year—and...

The Federal Government has splashed $21.58 million to lure two Netflix titles to Australia: feature film Escape From Spiderhead, due to shoot on the Gold Coast, and eight-part series Pieces of Her, bound for Sydney.

Both projects have been coaxed here via the government’s $400 million Location Incentive Program, with the expectation that combined they will inject around $160 million into the economy and create 770 local jobs.

Notably, both projects star homegrown talent. Chris Hemsworth leads the cast of Escape from Spiderhead, while Toni Collette, Bella Heathcoate and David Wenham are attached to star in Pieces of Her, executive produced by Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories.

“Australia’s world-class production sector is renowned for being hardworking and these productions will support hundreds of jobs – from carpenters, lighting technicians and set designers to actors, crews and special effects teams,” said Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts Paul Fletcher in announcing the projects.

By Darren Allison

(Cinema Retro Soundtrack Editor)

Dutton Vocalion has released three3 more impressive titles in their Sacd range. The Black Motion Picture Experience / Music for Soulful Lovers (Cdsml 8531) is as a twofer release featuring The Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds. There’s a perfect symmetry about this particular CD. Both albums were released on the famous Buddah label back in 1973 and both were released in Stereo and Quadrophonic pressings. Vocalion’s new CD marks the debut of both albums in both formats. Both titles were originally released back in the height of the Blaxploitation boom. The first of the Holmes albums consists of a great selection of major Blaxploitation themes including Super fly (1972), Shaft (1971) and Across 110th street (1972), but there’s also a great deal more than the usual, often repeated titles. Slaughter (1972) is a nice addition to the track listing, considering a soundtrack album was never released. Holmes also...

With Halloween only two weeks away now, that means we have another killer batch of home entertainment releases arriving this Tuesday, primed to get everyone in the mood for the macabre. Cult film lovers should get those wallets ready, as Kino Lorber is keeping busy with The Terror Within II, Revenge of the Dead, and a 4K special edition of RawHead Rex, too.

For those who still venture out into the real world to make their media purchases, Target has the exclusive on season one of Stranger Things that comes in nifty retro packaging, and Criterion has put together a stellar Blu for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

Other notable releases for October 17th include American Gods: Season One, Wes Craven’s Summer of Fear, Red Christmas, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Honor Farm, and Alfred Hitchcock: The Ultimate Collection.

American Gods: Season One (Lionsgate, Blu-ray & DVD)

When...

I've said it a 100 times before on this site that I love blaxploitation movies. They are the films that made me for, better or worse (and mainly for worse). Nothing can beat watching strong, virile, masculine black men going up against deranged racist villains and laying them to waste. Can't get enough of it! And when it comes to the glory that once was the blaxploitation genre, I've always felt that American International's 1973 "Slaughter's Big Rip-Off," toplined by Jim Brown, is one of true great movies of the genre. It was a somewhat rushed sequel to the successful "Slaughter," which came out the previous year, in which the hero ventures to Mexico to...

Jim Brown is The Man. Period. No ifs or buts about it. I am an unabashed Jim Brown fan, as I have said before. Brown was the greatest representation of hard black masculinity on the screen ever. After he stopped making films, everything went soft. Jim Brown was the real deal. Which is why you can't make movies like his 1972 film, "Slaughter," today. It would be impossible to cast. Yes sure there are those who try to be all tough and hard, but they don't quite cut it - especially those rappers-turned-actors. They look like they're faking. And let's be honest here. When it comes to real black masculinity on the screen today, pickings are very very slim. Who really could play...

 

The Austin Film Series is wrapping up its "Rebel Rebel" series this weekend with a 35mm print of Female Trouble, the raunchy 1974 comedy from enfant terrible John Waters. It screens tonight and Sunday afternoon at the Marchesa. That's also the place to be on Thursday night as a new Essential Cinema series launches featuring some of the best collaborations of Liv Ullman and Ingmar Bergman. The first film of the series is 1966's Persona, screening in a 35mm print. Look for an article about the series on Monday by programmer Chale Nafus.

The Alamo Drafthouse Ritz has another eclectic week ahead of specialty screenings. On Saturday afternoon, you can view the late-era Marx Bros. classic, 1946's A Night In Casablanca. Also this week, there's a Bill & Ted double feature on Sunday that will include two new Mondo posters available for purchase, Russ Meyer's Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls...

Just a reminder...As you should know by now, I love Blaxploitation films. I was raised on Blaxploitation films and still find them an endless source of excitement and thrills. Just the image of the seeing a black man conquering all challenges and racist villains still thrills me to no end. Which is why I liked Django Unchained so much, because it was nothing more but a straight up Blaxploitation film writ large on a huge canvas. And the final bloody climax where Django wiped out all those Confederate red necks and slave overseers was just a more expansive and bloodier copy of the similar “wipe-out-every-motherf-----r-in-the-place” climax by Jim Brown in Slaughter’s Big Rip Off.But...

As you should know by now, I love Blaxploitation films. I was raised on Blaxploitation films and still find them an endless source of excitement and thrills. Just the image of the seeing a black man conquering all challenges and racist villains still thrills me to no end. Which is why I liked Django Unchained so much, because it was nothing more but a straight up Blaxploitation film writ large on a huge canvas. And the final bloody climax where Django wiped out all those Confederate red necks and slave overseers was just a more expansive and bloodier copy of the similar “wipe-out-every-motherf-----r-in-the-place” climax by Jim Brown in Slaughter’s Big Rip Off. But I’ve never...

There continues to be talk of the all-women version of The Expendables, so why not an all-black version? Actually, there already kinda was one way back in 1996. Blaxploitation stars Fred Williamson (Black Caesar; Hell Up in Harlem), Pam Grier (Foxy Brown; Coffy), Jim Brown (Slaughter; The Dirty Dozen), Ron O’Neal (Super Fly) and Richard Roundtree (Shaft) and director Larry Cohen (Black Caesar; Hell Up in Harlem) came together for a movie titled Original Gangstas. It was sort of what The Expendables is all about now — nostalgia for the action movies of the ’80s and early ’90s with a round up of legendary action heroes who are now middle-aged or older — but then, it was in tribute to the African-American-focused genre of the ’70s as well as an answer to the rise of the urban crime films that broke out through the early work of John Singleton, the Hughes Brothers and Mario Van Peebles, the...

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a superhero movie... and they've taken over Hollywood with their superpowers and Spandex costumes. The Guardian and Observer's critics pick the 10 best

• Top 10 action movies

• Top 10 crime movies

• Top 10 arthouse movies

• Top 10 family movies

• Top 10 war movies

• Top 10 teen movies

• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s

10. Iron Man 3

Shane Black's jagged-edged debut in the Marvel hotseat might easily have been a by-the-numbers "threequel", especially with star Robert Downey Jr out of contract and The Avengers' stupendous box office success a year earlier. Instead, the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director delivered the series' best instalment so far via a perfectly-pitched twist that comes about as close as the superhero genre will ever get to its very own Crying Game moment.

Ben Kingsley's nefarious Mandarin is a preposterous, shadowy Bin Laden clone with a big bushy beard...

After all the debates, controversies, and stereotype accusations have cleared, looking back on Blaxploitation cinema today it’s easy to see healthy portions of the crime and action genres. Using these genres and the struggles of the black community, these films were created for those that wanted to see African American characters on the big screen not taking shit from the man, “getting over”, and–above all else—being the heroes in movies. In the documentary Baad Asssss Cinema, Samuel L. Jackson gives his take on the heroes of Blaxploitation: “We were tired of seeing the righteous black man. And all of a sudden we had guys who were…us. Or guys who did the things we wanted those guys to do.”

The unsung supporting players in these films that backed Fred Williamson and Pam Grier and many other stars were people acting and making a living off of it.

Remakes, sequels, reboots: these are common parlance in the film industry today and have been since its birth, really. There is no film property immune to this, especially a successful one. And though the blaxploitation genre, which reached its height of popularity in the 1970s, still enjoys a rabid cult following, few of the attempts to re-energize this vital branch of American film have been very successful.

Until now.

Black Dynamite, the 2009 film starring Michael Jai White, is now also an animated series now airing Sundays on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. And while the character and his world may still effectively be a cult happening, it is clear that Black Dynamite is the most successful blaxploitation property to hit the streets since platform shoes went out of fashion. Loaded with sex, violence, and sex and violence, Black Dynamite is the true sequel to Shaft that fans have been waiting for.

With the Academy Awards for the 2011 film year in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take a look at one of the event’s most consistently fascinating categories: Best Supporting Actor. The most interesting story in the category this year isn’t who got nominated, it’s who didn’t. More specifically, Albert Brooks was completely robbed of a nomination for his performance as film producer turned lethal gangster Bernie Rose in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive.

As much as I’d like to say I was surprised by this, considering both the quality of performance and Brooks’ slew of nominations from other critical circles, in light of the Academy’s history of overlooking outstanding supporting performances, I simply can’t.

Following is a chronological look at a number of performances richly deserving of a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination.

In some cases, the performances are in films...

Sun City - What are you going to when it comes time to retire? Do you really have enough money saved up to last you for the rest of your life? Can you hold out till Willard Scott puts you on the Smuckers jar and wishes you a happy 100th? Will you really be enjoying the good life with round the clock sponge baths from young orderlies? Have you done the math to figure out how much it’ll cost for a day at a retirement community in 20 years? Can your 401K hold out?

Odds are the answer is a resounding, “Maybe?”

The golden years require platinum reserves. With talk that Medicare is about to be destroyed, your budget for health insurance is about to go completely out of control. When is the last time Blue Cross hyped individual policies for people hitting 90? Even the most frugal of senior citizens...