All posts by Kenna

Unstoppable

“Unstoppable” With Jharrel Jerome, Michael Peña, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Lopez

based on a book, biography, sports, true stories, , , , ,

Based on the book Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion by Anthony Robles and Austin Murphy, Unstoppable follows Robles, played by Jharrel Jerome, as a champion wrestler. Despite being born without a right leg, Robles becomes an NCAA Division 1 Champion wrestler, ultimately winning a national championship against the school that rejected him, national powerhouse Iowa.

William Goldenberg directed the film, which features an all-star cast that includes Jharrel Jerome, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Anthony Robles, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Lopez. The story celebrates the glory of overcoming all obstacles to win.

Goldenberg is best known for his editing talents, for which he won an Oscar for the movie Argo.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

“The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” 50th Anniversary Special Edition

classic, documentary, horror

The hell-raising bloodshed of 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre disrupted the movie theatergoers worldwide. Leatherface is running after a group of friends wielding the iconic chainsaw.

Directed by Tobe Hooper, the studio marketed this horror film based on actual events to attract public attention and sell tickets. Ed Gein, who committed gruesome crimes of murder, inspired Leatherface and minor plot points. Otherwise, the horror film’s storyline is predominantly fiction.

Ed Gein was a serial killer and body snatcher, robbing grave sites, also known as Butcher of Plainfield, The Mad Butcher and the Plainfield Goul. Gein’s murders were so horrific that his killing spree filled popular horror films: Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year, making it the perfect time for horror fans to grab popcorn and their favorite beverage and pop the DVD or VHS in their machines.

Dark Sky Selects sent me The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition. To my surprise, I opened the box to pursue multiple theme-based features. A collection of many interviews on a multi-disc set will include:

  • Three new 4K UHD editions.
  • AA Blu-ray bonus disc containing new extra features.
  • Exclusive VHS movie release.

The special edition collector’s set is housed in a custom-made box replicating the iconic chainsaw from the film. The chainsaw is among the best swab gizmos I have ever seen. Opening it triggers the sound of Leatherface wielding it in the movie. They numbered each box set and only created 5000—I own #1251. 

This limited edition also features a newly designed 50th Anniversary O-card and brand-new bonus content, including The Merchandise of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Restoration of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition will be available for $299.98 exclusively at darkskyselects.com.

Here is a breakdown of what you get:

DISC 1: 4K UHD (FEATURE FILM)

BONUS: 4 FEATURE COMMENTARIES

  • Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper, Actor Gunnar Hansen, Cinematographer Daniel Pearl
  • Actors Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, and Paul A. Partain, and Production Designer Robert Burns
  • Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper
  • Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, Editor J. Larry Carroll and Sound Recordist Ted Nicolaou

DISC 2: BLU-RAY (FEATURE FILM)

BONUS: 4 FEATURE COMMENTARIES

  • Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper, Actor Gunnar Hansen, Cinematographer Daniel Pearl
  • Actors Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, and Paul A. Partain, and Production Designer Robert Burns
  • Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper
  • Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, Editor J. Larry Carroll and Sound Recordist Ted Nicolaou

DISC 3: BLU-RAY BONUS FEATURES

  • NEW The Merchandise of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
  • NEW The Restoration of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
  • Feature-Length Documentary: The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
  • The Cinefamily Presents FRIEDKIN/HOOPER: A Conversation About The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Between William Friedkin and Tobe Hooper
  • Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw
  • A Tour of the TCSM House with Gunnar Hansen
  • Off the Hook with Teri McMinn
  • The Business of Chain Saw: An Interview with Production Manager Ron Bozman Interview
  • Deleted Scenes & Outtakes
  • Grandpa’s Tales: An Interview with Actor John Dugan
  • Cutting Chain Saw: An Interview with Editor J. Larry Carroll
  • Blooper Reel
  • Horrors Hallowed Grounds: TCSM
  • Dr. W.E. Barnes Presents “Making Grandpa”
  • Still Gallery
  • Trailers
  • TV Spots
  • Radio Spots

The film’s low budget, gritty style, extreme gore, and violence boosted its popularity. Since then, we’ve had horror films like The Blair Witch Project, Friday the 13th, Halloween and Night of the Living Dead.

The group of friends intends to visit an old family homestead. On their journey, they encounter a hitchhiker who behaves strangely. The stranger eventually turns on them and attacks them, leading to a harrowing chase through the Texas countryside.

They arrive at a farmhouse and meet cannibalistic killers, including the iconic Leatherface with a mask of human skin and a wielding chainsaw. Michael Myers copied the masking technique so beautifully on Halloween.

Upon its release, the film sparked controversy because of its graphic violence, a stark contrast to the Coen Bros. films or the SAW franchise. This controversy, however, only cemented its status as a cult classic and the most influential horror movie of its genre.

It generated many sequels and remakes, influencing countless horror films that tried to be deemed worthy.

Stand up comedian Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal Takes on a Serious Roll in “Before”

Apple TV, drama, episodic, thriller,

Stand-up comedy legend Billy Crystal stars with Judy Light in Apple TVs Before. The character-driven psychological thriller is about Eli, played by Crystal, a dysfunctional child psychiatrist, which is not a shocker. Psychiatrists are crazy and commit crimes; they’re nuts.

Apple TV’s Before is a 10-episode series following Eli, who recently lost his wife, Lynn, played by Judy Light.

Eli encounters a troubled young boy who seems to have a haunting connection with Eli’s past with some horrendous secret past.

Clint Eastwood's Juror #2

Clint Eastwood’s “Juror #2” Stars Nicolas Hoult, Toni Collette, Zoey Deutch

drama, thriller, , , ,

Written by Jonathan Abrams and directed by Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, Juror #2 is a courtroom drama

Family man Justin Kemp, played by Nicolas Hoult, struggles with a grave moral dilemma while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial. It concerns personal integrity and the concept of right or wrong. He could use it to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict or free the wrong killer.

Eastwood tackles moral issues artfully, and its strong cast includes Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, and Kiefer Sutherland.

Ana de Armas in Ballerina

John Wick Introduces “Ballerina”

action, ,

Len Wiseman directs the cast of Ballerina, a John Wick spin-off.

The film stars Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, and Gabriel Byrne, with a strong supporting cast of Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane and Keanu Reeves.

Based on Characters by Derek Kolstad and written by Shay Hatten, the story takes place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. The film follows Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro at the beginning of her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.

What is the Ruska Roma?

The Ruska Roma is the largest known Russian Gypsies, a subgroup of the Romani people in Russia and Belarus, an Eastern European neighbor to Russia.

It’s also a fictional group in Wick’s movies, a powerful criminal organization in Germany. According to John Wick Fandom, it is one of the twelve organizations that holds a seat at the High Table.

Ballerina‘s release date is June 2025, with more information arriving soon.

Other films by Wiseman:

Total Recall

Live Free or Die Hard

Underworld

Underworld: Evolution

Sinners

Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners”

horror, , , , , ,
Sinners with Michael B. Jordan

Directed by Ryan Coogler, Sinners follows twin brothers, played by Michael B. Jordan.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, the twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that a horrific evil awaits to welcome them back.

I suspect one twin will become evil.

An impressive support cast includes Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller and Delroy Lindo.

Other films directed by Coogler:

Black Panther

Creed

Thunderbolts*

“Thunderbolts*” First Trailer

action, based on a book, super heroes, , ,

Marvel Studio brings us another group of superheroes based on the Marvel Comics, Thunderbolts.

Jake Schreier directs a well-thought-out cast who play misfits. Florence Pugh, who plays Black Widow, is the center of attention in the storyline—at least in the first trailer.

The ensemble cast also includes David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sebastian Stan and Hannah John-Kamen.

Other films directed by Schreier:

Paper Towns

Robot & Frank

Beef

“Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera” Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr. Team Up Again

action, suspense,
Den of Thieves 2

Written and directed by Christian Gudegast, Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. return in the sequel to 2018’s action-heist hit Den of Thieves. In Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, Big Nick, played by Butler, is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie, played by Jackson.

Jackson is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia as they plot a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange.

Other films directed by Gudegast:

Plane

A Man Apart

London Has Fallen

Blitz

“Blitz” Starring Saoirse With Director McQueen

Apple TV, drama, , ,
Apple TV's Blitz

Directed by Steve McQueen, Blitz follows George’s epic journey, played by Elliott Heffernan. He’s a 9-year-old World War II London boy whose mother Rita, played by Saoirse Ronan, sends him to safety in the English countryside.

George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald, played by Paul Weller, in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril. At the same time, a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.

Other movies directed by McQueen:

Widows

Occupied City

12 Years a Slave

Red, White and Blue

Mickey 17

“Mickey 17” Trailer

comedy, science fiction

Directed by Bong Joon-ho and based on Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, Mickey 17 follows Mickey Barnes, played by Robert Pattinson. He’s a disposable employee sent on a human expedition to colonize the ice world of Nifheim.

After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated, and most of his memories are intact.

Other films directed by Bong Joon-ho:

Parasite

Barking Dogs Never Bite

Mother