News

Following Talking Dead's announcement that Lennie James has joined the cast of Fear The Walking Dead Season 4, AMC has unveiled two new photos of James during his first day on the set of The Walking Dead companion series:

Press Release: AMC released today video and photos of Lennie James on the set of “Fear the Walking Dead,” which is currently shooting its fourth season in Austin, TX. It was announced last night on “Talking Dead” that James, who plays fan favorite character “Morgan Jones” on “The Walking Dead,” will star in “Fear the Walking Dead” Season 4 as part of a previously announced series crossover.

The crossover between “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” was announced last month at New York Comic Con by executive producer Robert Kirkman. James will star in “Fear the Walking Dead” as a series regular along with returning cast members Kim Dickens, Frank Dillane,...

Stars: Mark Dacascos, Matthias Hues, Mike Möller, Brandon Rhea, Mike Leeder, Wolfgang Riehm, Martin Baden, Henry Muller, Verena Konietschke, Bartholomäus Kowalski, Yazmeen Baker, Gerrit Grass, Mathis Landwehr, Sandra Tauro, Susen Ermich | Written by Marco Theiss | Directed by Martin Christopher Bode

Ultimate Justice follows a group of Special Forces operatives who come back together for one last mission when the family of one of their own is threatened. The film starts out with a flashback to Commander Hans Sturm and his team of soldiers, led by Mark Dacascos’ Gus, performing their very last mission. You see their team takes casualties and Gus decides it’s time to end the security teams days and sell the company, Vme, and retire. Jump forward eight years and Strum is now married with a wife and child, living in a huge mansion. One night his home is attacked, his wife raped and killed, and his daughter kidnapped.

Chicago – Women in Film Chicago (Wifc) continues its role as one of the best resource and advocacy groups for women filmmakers. Last month, they celebrated their Focus Awards and honored four women – producer Julie Smolyansky, cinematographer Tari Segal, filmmaker Mary Morten and comedian Julia Sweeney.

Focus Awards Honorees, LtoR: Mary Morten, Julie Smolyansky, Tari Segal and Julia Sweeney

Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago

Before the event, HollywoodChicago.com interviewed Julie Smoyanksy (click here), the CEO of Lifeway Foods and producer of the documentary “The Hunting Ground.” At the event itself, the other three honorees were interviewed on the Red Carpet.

Julia Sweeney, Comedian and Cast Member of “Saturday Night Live”

Julia Sweeney was a force of comedy during her years on “Saturday Night Live” from 1990 to 1994, where she created memorable characters, including the androgynous “Pat” (no one could tell if she was a man or woman). She moved on into one-woman shows,...

Presented by Deadhouse Films, The 10th annual A Night of Horror International Film Festival, and Fantastic Planet: Sydney Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival, screen simultaneously at Dendy Cinemas Newtown from November 24 to December 4, 2016. Says festival director Dean Bertram:

The 10th annual festival is going to be our biggest event yet. Featuring over 100 films, several international filmmaker guests, multiple parties and a horror filmmaking master class; Sydney’s genre fans and filmmaking community are going to be treated to eleven days of the best and freshest horror, sci-fi, and fantasy from around the globe.

The festival opens on Thursday November 24, with the Australian premiere of the international festival hit Peelers, plus a Q&A with special international guest: Canadian director Sevé Schelenz. And in keeping with the spirit of the bloody hilarious film, the screening will be followed by a “zombie and strippers” themed after party.

The closing night film,...

Giving horror fans enough nightmare fuel to last them until next Halloween, Channel Zero: Candle Cove has cranked up the fright factor to eleven over its first four episodes. Over the past couple of weeks, Daily Dead, along with other journalists, had the opportunity to take part in conference calls with showrunner Nick Antosca, who discussed adapting Kris Straub's unsettling creepypasta, how the show found a home at Syfy, getting Greg Nicotero's help in designing the look of The Tooth Child, and what to expect in season 2, which will focus on Brian Russell's NoEnd House.

Nick Antosca on which puppet-like character scared him growing up and having Don Mancini (Child's Play films) in the writers' room for Candle Cove:

When I was a kid, they used to play that [Child's Play] on USA all the time. I remember seeing Child’s Play 2 and Chucky killing the teacher,...

As True Detective season two reaches its finale, will everything be answered? Here's Michael's review of Omega Station...

Warning: this review contains spoilers.

2.8 Omega Station

The extended running time of this final episode of True Detective seemed, at first glance, to offer the possibility of unpicking the untidy web of conspiracies and connections that the preceding seven episodes had revealed. That is the traditional purpose of mystery finales, from Agatha Christie to Scooby Doo, with every variation of crime, noir and whodunnit in between. That it would not do so became clear very early on in Omega Station, when we spent an apparent age with two couples reflecting grouchily on where they’d come from and what their futures held for them. It signalled the problem not because such musings are inherently uninteresting but because they promised more of the same circuitous navel gazing that has plagued this season since episode one.

With The Walking Dead Season 5 now wrapped up, I can confidently say that I feel this was the strongest season of the series. With new characters, new threats, and new zombie creations, there was a little something for everyone and it feels like the show has really hit its stride with balancing action and character development. I had a chance to catch up with Andrew Lincoln, following the Season 5 finale, and he talked about working with the new cast, his zombie fight from the finale, his favorite scene from the season, and shaving off his beard:

This season has really been a great journey for readers, seeing the group on the road for most of the season and finding a new home in Alexandria. What has the experience been like for you as an actor, starting out in the first season with a smaller cast and having this massive addition...

Departure Day: When it comes to TV, is closure important?

If you happen to follow a decent number of TV critics on Twitter, you may have noticed a minor eruption of late. A schism has emerged, prompted by accounts like The Cancellation Bear, which concerns itself solely with the topic of whether or not series are likely to survive based on current ratings patterns. That may sound perfectly innocent on its own, but quite a few admirers have expressed the notion that they refuse to dive into a series if they get the sense that it will come to a premature end, thereby robbing them of closure. This idea has, naturally, left many critics incensed: isn’t TV a medium founded on chaos, on the thrill of working within limitations and at the whims of fickle audiences? Moreover, isn’t it silly to always want tidy resolution in the context...

The release of Sin City: A Dame To Kill For inspires James to look back at its film noir roots, and some classic examples of the genre...

"Things go dark. I don't mind much. It's okay." John Hartigan, Sin City.

We're at the shadowy back-end of the summer blockbuster season and darkness is entering the frame. Here comes ultraviolence, sleaze, crime and death, all beautifully shot in macabre high-contrast monochrome. Just when you thought you'd got yourself clean and were all peppy after some upbeat family-friendly popcorn thrills, here's Sin City: A Dame To Kill For to darken up the doorways. (And it will light up a cigarette in those doorways and spit out some tough dialogue from between its bloodstained teeth while it's lingering there.)

We're back in the Basin City of Frank Miller's graphic novels again, once more brought to vivid screen life by the comics creator...

James Wright was distraught to learn that his next-door neighbor was arrested for the alleged sexual assault and murder of his 6-year-old daughter Jenise. But the Washington dad has found it in his heart to forgive suspect Gabriel Zebediah Gaeta, 17, if it turns out the worst is true. "I've already forgiven him," he told the Kitsap Sun. "How can I be in God's grace if I don't forgive?" Meanwhile, Jenise's mother, Denise Wright, defended the Gaeta family, who've been getting death threats since their son was arrested. "It's not their fault this happened," she told the Sun. "Just blame him,...

The teen arrested for the alleged sex assault and murder of 6-year-old Jenise Wright is a neighbor for whom the victim's father had tried to set an example. "We were friends," Jenise's father, James Wright, told NBC News after learning the identify of suspect Gabriel Zebediah Gaeta, 17, a student at Olympic High School in Bremerton, Washington. "We fed him. He split wood with me at my house. I was trying to teach him to be responsible to his community - even we we leave home, we are responsible as men." Two days after his arrest in the mobile home park...

The teen arrested for the alleged sex assault and murder of 6-year-old Jenise Wright is a neighbor for whom the victim's father had tried to set an example. "We were friends," Jenise's father, James Wright, told NBC News after learning the identify of suspect Gabriel Zebediah Gaeta, 17, a student at Olympic High School in Bremerton, Washington. "We fed him. He split wood with me at my house. I was trying to teach him to be responsible to his community - even we we leave home, we are responsible as men." Two days after his arrest in the mobile home park...

Fargo's first season reaches a typically unconventional climax. Here's Michael's review...

Review

This review contains spoilers

1.10 Morton’s Fork

As a piece of work, Fargo defied expectations from the outset. Retooling a highly regarded film for TV was always going to attract questions (chief among them being simply ‘why?’) and no small amount of hostility. Even after securing the blessing of the Coens themselves, Noah Hawley’s project carried with it the whiff of unoriginality. Starting well and sustaining its brilliance throughout a ten episode run wasn’t the expected outcome. Fargo, with an impish grin, defied that expectation gloriously.

But then, defiance is coded into the show’s DNA. The primary characters invited particular expectations and countered them, either immediately or over the course of the series. Part of Lester’s success in evading capture for so long was down to the sheer improbability of his involvement. Molly...

Sarah and Helena joined forces and decided to go after the Swan Man in an effort to stop Rachel in Orphan Black’s “Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est.”

Rachel Enlists Paul To Be Her New Monitor

Rachel Duncan (Tatiana Maslany) returned home from her trip to Taiwan to a bloody apartment: Daniel, her monitor, is dead. Dr. Leekie (Matt Frewer) blames Rachel for Daniel’s (Matthew Bennett) death, saying her aggressive ways caused Daniel’s murder, but Rachel isn’t backing down. To replace Daniel, Rachel called Paul (Dylan Bruce), who was with her in Taiwan, and gave him the “promotion.”

Aldous reveals to Rachel that he may have found a stem cell treatment for Cosima (Maslany), but Rachel is ruthless. She instructs Leekie not to treat Cosima, to make her suffer until Sarah (Maslany) surrenders. Rachel’s control over Aldous baffles Paul, so Rachel clears up their relationship. Aldous took...

Review Michael Noble 16 Apr 2014 - 11:56

Patience and restraint are two of Bates Motel's chief virtues. Here's Michael's review of another steady episode...

This review contains spoilers.

2.7 Presumed Innocent

One of the aspects of Bates Motel that I enjoy the most is the (relatively) low bodycount. For a show that centres on a serial killer, albeit one who is still very much serving his apprenticeship, there is an admirable restraint in the way it portrays Norman's steady descent into infamy. It’s testament to the smartness of the show’s writers that they focus on the character’s situation and changing emotional circumstances rather than attempting to shock the viewer with ever more gruesomely inventive (and grimly implausible) murder scenes. This is shown both narratively, such as in the presentation of Norman’s fugue states (and his loved ones’ failure to understand them) and structurally, such as in this...

Rick Grimes is having yet another very bad day. Not a wake-up-from-a-coma-to-find-the-world's-been-overrun-by-zombies bad day or even a my-son-just-shot-my-wife-­after-she-gave-birth-to-a-child-that-may-have-been-fathered-by-my-former-best-friend sort of day, but still pretty awful. There's dirt smeared on his face, a gash over his left eye and a soiled white bandage wrapped loosely around one hand. He's gasping for breath as he trudges up a hill outside the prison he and the band of survivors he's leading call home. He looks like he might collapse.

Nine Walking Dead Villains We're Dying to See

Director Ernest Dickerson has yelled "Cut!

Obviously, I've never contemplated stealing art, but I did see some interesting parallels with recruitment in Brown's five rules of theft

I can't say my own salary and lifestyle quite match those of Roger Brown, the headhunter in this enjoyable – if a tad violent – film based on the Jo Nesbø novel. He's the top headhunter in Norway, and has the beautiful wife and lavish apartment to prove it. Here's a man who can splash out £40,000 on a pair of earrings before dinner.

But Brown is also an art thief: he robs his rich, high-flying job candidates of their paintings, having found out lots of helpful personal details about their homes and circumstances during his interviews with them. Obviously, that's not something I'd contemplate, but I did see some interesting parallels with recruitment in Brown's five rules of theft. "Learn everything about a target," he says. That's something you must do with candidates.

We hold in our hands the covers for DC Comics this December. As a child of four can plainly see, these envelopes have been hermetically sealed. They’ve been kept in a #2 mayonnaise jar under Wikipedia’s porch since noon today.

Shall we? Surely!

As usual, spoilers may lurk beyond this point.

Justice League #4

Written by Geoff Johns

Art and cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams

1:25 Variant cover by Andy Kubert

1:200 B&W Variant cover by Jim Lee

On sale December 21 • 40 pg, Fc, $3.99 Us • Rated T

Combo pack edition: $4.99 Us

Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.

The superstar team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee continue the origin of the Justice League as The World’s Greatest Heroes face the might of Apokolips – and find aid in an unlikely hero, as Cyborg is created!

Plus, Andy Kubert...

We’ve received all the covers for DC Comics August solicitations, and Flashpoint promises that worlds will live, worlds will die, and the DC Universe will never be the sa– oh, sorry, that was the tagline for Crisis On Infinite Earths, back when I worked at Flashpoint. I’m so confused…

My favorite item for the month is pictured above, the Sergio Aragones version of Batman from Batman: Black & White. But there are some absolute art gems here, including Darwyn Cooke’s Jsa cover, and Frank Quitely’s redoing of Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson’s cover for Green Lantern #52.

As for the rest of the books, take a look… as usual, spoilers ahead:

War Of The Green Lanterns Aftermath #2

Written by Tony Bedard

Art by Miguel Sepulveda

Cover by Tom Fleming

1:10 Variant cover by Miguel Sepulveda

The blockbuster “War of the Green Lanterns” event has rocked the...

The daring bin Laden raid is being billed as evidence of the new Obama. The truth is, he's been itching to pull this trigger all along. In this week's Newsweek, Andrew Romano and Daniel Klaidman on what could become the defining point of this presidency.

The echoes were unmistakable. On April 24, 1980, President Jimmy Carter sent eight helicopters to rescue the 52 Americans held captive at the U.S. Embassy in Iran. One crashed en route; one turned back; one malfunctioned. Spooked, Carter decided to cut his losses and abort the mission-but not before one of the remaining choppers sliced into a transport plane, igniting a blaze that killed eight servicemen. Carter's presidency never recovered.

Related story on The Daily Beast: Pakistan's Spy Agency and Terrorism

For a brief, anxious moment, President Obama's national-security team, gathered in the West Wing on May 1, suffered a sickening sense of déjà vu. As the...

Get the latest updates on Osama bin Laden's death. Plus, earlier updates below.

Bin Laden's Young Wife Identified

Related story on The Daily Beast: Britain's Crush on Obama

By the time Osama bin Laden was killed, he was down to only one of his five wives:  Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah, the youngest and his rumored favorite. By the time he moved into his Pakistan mansion, Bin Laden had divorced one of his wives and three others had moved to Syria, according to ABC News, but Amal had remained with him. She had been given to him as a gift when she was still a teenager, and eventually had three children with bin Laden-a daughter and two sons, who lived with them in the compound.

On the night of the raid, Amal was in the bedroom with Bin Laden, and apparently reacted with fury to the Navy SEALs who had come to kill her husband.

Nearly a decade after the 9/11 attacks, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed and his body buried at sea, with Americans celebrating his death across the country. Read details on the elite raid that killed bin Laden, photos of his compound, and more.

Plus, full coverage of bin Laden's death.

Inside the Situation Room

On Monday afternoon, the White House released an official photo of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the rest of the national security team during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

White House Briefing

President Obama made one of the "most gutsiest calls" ever by a president, according to Homeland Security chief John Brennan, who spoke at a White House press briefing on Monday. Among the revelations Brennan revealed: Bin Laden apparently used one of his wives as a human shield during the raid that ended his life, causing her death as well.

Updated through 4/30.

"At first it was about neighborhood," begins Eric Hynes in the Voice. "Then it was about stars, parties, and supersizing. But finally, for its 10th incarnation, the Tribeca Film Festival (April 20-May 1) seems to be about movies. Gone are the superfluous, attention-sucking Hollywood premieres (Tom Cruise on a Jet Ski, anyone?), and few are the big-name, low-quality vanity projects. Several years into a vital slimming of the slate — the fest topped out at 176 films in 2005; this year, it's a manageable 93 — Tff remains New York's largest film survey."

To celebrate Tribeca's 10th, we're running a retrospective of some of the best films the festival's shown over the past decade here at Mubi. Happy viewing.

"A notoriously uneven assemblage of titles, Tribeca aspires toward something like a mini Toronto, but despite, in recent years, bringing such important films as Jia Zhangke's Still Life and Mohammad Rasoulof's The White Meadows...

There are people who believe zombies should only walk. And there are people who believe they can run around like steroid-injecting track stars. Then, there’s Frank Darabont, executive producer of the new AMC zombie show The Walking Dead, who believes both aforementioned groups are full of hooey. “Well, it depends on the zombie’s mood,” says the Shawshank Redemption director. “If they’ve recently fed, they’re a little less interested, a little more shutdown. Other times, they’re riled to a predatory state and can get a little faster.” So, they’re mostly walking — but sometimes they jog...

In honor of Friday's release of The Expendables, we're taking a week-long look at the action films of Sir Sylvester Stallone -- which is to say we're skipping his comedies. Out of respect.

Title: Judge Dredd

Setting: Mega City, 2139.

Our hero: Gravel-voiced fascist Judge Dredd (Stallone), the embodiment of Mega City's justice system, where police are the judge, jury and executioner of criminals.

Our villain/s: Rico (Armand Assante), a psychotic killer who also happens to be a former judge and Dredd's childhood best friend - whom he subsequently judged. Also, Judge Griffin (Jurgen Prochnow), a Justice who helps unleash Rico so he can coerce his fellow judges into unlock the "Janus files," which allow the Council to biologically engineer judges using the Justice's DNA. And just for good measure, the Angel family, a group of mutated cannibals who have it in for Mega City's most famous Judge.

Filed under: Action,...

Ron finds more fault with the Splice trailers than the film, discovering an edgy 50s-style sci-fi flick with better monster effects...

I watch a lot of movies, and I watch a lot of movie trailers. Call me crazy ("You're crazy!") but it's a lot of fun to me to see how people, studios, or whoever decide to encapsulate the essence of their 90 minute movie into a couple of fleeting moments. There's nothing I dislike more than a misleading trailer. Your trailer can be bad, but so long as the movie itself is a piece of crap, I'm fine with that. If you stick a bad trailer with a good movie, or a boring trailer with a fun movie (ahem, Jennifer's Body, paging Jennifer's Body), I just get irritated.

Splice, in every trailer I've ever seen for it, is being sold like a classic science-gone-wrong monster movie, in which Dren (played...

“Splice” has a cool creature and little else

When it comes to what is wrong with the new science fiction/horror/comedy movie, “Splice,” the list is extensive. Therefore, before focusing on the faults of the picture and merely creating a diatribe of disdain, let’s take a moment to comment on what the film does well. The centerpiece monster is a young woman-thing named Dren (Delphine Chaneac) and she is a wonder to observe. Created by make-up masters Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, Dren is cool mix of a jumble of creatures that makes for a beast that is both sexy and creepy. Her features are striking with her huge, wide set eyes (a look straight out of 2007’s vampire flick “30 Days of Night”) and a long tail that is equipped with a slimy and deadly stinger. It is fun to watch her saunter around for a while but...

There’s a lot of weight behind Splice. Stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, under the direction of Vincenzo Natali (Cube), are practically a dream team for any bizarre indie flick. Back that up with producers Joel Silver and Guillermo Del Toro, plus Oscar-winning effects artist Greg Nicotero, and I used to wonder why it took over two years for Splice to find any sort of distribution. Used to.

Any description you read will tell you that Brody and Polley play biochemists Clive and Elsa. Together they’ve taken a tremendous step forward by successfully splicing together DNA from various animals into an entirely new and artificial organism. When the corporate moneymen get in the way of their progress though, the couple takes a bold - and extremely hazardous - step forward, adding human DNA to the mix. The result, Dren, is as beautiful as she is grotesque, as human as she is dangerous.

Delphine Chaneac and Sarah Polley in Splice

Photo: Warner Bros. Buzz for Vincenzo Natali's genetic sci-fi thriller Splice ramped up after its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It was snatched up by Warner Bros. and given a meaty summer release date so who wouldn't expect it to be as excellent as the hype was insinuating? At the very least it had to be more than just counter-programming against Universal's Get Him to the Greek... Right?

Sorry, Splice is one-half of an interesting sci-fi feature and one-half of an outlandish winged-creature sex romp. Perhaps the title of the film is more literal than I took it to be, because Splice is cut straight down the middle to the point the first half takes itself way too seriously considering where the second half dares go. Had this been conceived as a tongue-in-cheek B-movie from the outset I could have held on for the duration,...

When it comes to what is wrong with the new science fiction/horror/comedy movie, Splice, the list is extensive. Therefore, before focusing on the faults of the picture and only creating a diatribe of disdain, let’s take a moment to comment on what the film does well.

The centerpiece monster is a young woman-thing named Dren (Delphine Chaneac) and she is a wonder to observe. Created by make-up masters Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, Dren is cool mix of a creatures that makes for a beast that is both sexy and creepy. Her features are striking with her huge, wide set eyes (a look similar to 2007’s vampire flick 30 Days of Night) and a long tail that is equipped with a slimy, deadly stinger. It is fun to watch her saunter around for a while, but once the novelty wears off Splice is left with little else to offer.

Director: Vincenzo Natali Writers: Vincenzo Natali, Doug Taylor, Antoinette Terry Bryant Starring: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac Splice begins with us meeting "rock star" genetic scientists Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) and Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley) who specialize in the splicing of DNA of different animals species to engineer new hybrids...they are also a couple. In order to stay step ahead of others in their field, Clive and Elsa's next step is to introduce human DNA into their hybrids in order to revolutionize the science of modern medicine. However, Newstead Pharmaceuticals (who funds their research) forbids them in taking this controversial next step. As rebellious as they are brilliant, Clive and Elsa conduct their own secret experiments with the end result producing a creature they come to call Dren, which is the anadrome of their research company N.E.R.D (Nucleic Exchange Research and Development labs). Dren is...

MLive recently reported shooting for upcoming horror film Sucker is currently underway in Pontiac, Michigan. Produced by the Los Angeles-based company Big Screen Entertainment and directed by Michael Manasseri (Babysitter Wanted), the film will follow a man who becomes part mosquito after being exposed to years of radiation and a serum full of rare insect DNA. After the discovery of his wife’s adulterous ways, the Mosquito man seeks revenge and tries to win back the object of his affection. How? By sucking the blood of her assailants, of course!

“It’s a fun, tongue in cheek film about a man who suddenly becomes part mosquito,” said Producer Stephen Eckelberry, describing the plot. The Oakland Press was lucky enough to snag a video of Eckelberry and ask a few questions.

Robert Kurtzman’s Creature Corps. will be handling the FX; I can’t hope but help to see a gruesome...

[Apropos of its North America premiere tonight at the Sundance Film Festival and that the director is writing a column for this site, here is a re-post of my take from last October.]

The elegantly named Splice is Canadian science-fiction filmmaker Vincenzo Natali's most handsomely crafted film to date. The film is surprising because it is not the usual action and chase oriented creature-feature, but rather a genre mash of science fiction cautionary tale and a young parenting drama (a cautionary tale of a different kind). Freudian family politics with bio-evolution in fast-forward? Let us just see how elastic a genre movie can get!  For a while now, David Cronenberg has been moving towards traditional looking films with the literal gooey body/mind psychology now relegated to tattoos and submerged personalities. Splice acts as a new version of his mainstream hit (a rare successful remake) The Fly.  In that 1986 film the overriding metaphor covered the anxieties and body rot of STDs (after all, the merging of Seth Brundle and an external 'bug' had Brundle-Fly decaying on a quite graphic level.)  Natali has...