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Stan & Ollie (2018)

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I thought you’d retired.
No, we’re-we’re...
we’re getting older, but we’re not done yet.

Simply nostalgia. “Stan & Ollie” is a trip to a bygone era when I was a little boy. When I returned from school on Friday afternoon, I threw my schoolbag somewhere in a corner and turned on the television. Then I changed the channel (in those days it meant getting up and pressing a button) to ARD (or ZDF? I can’t remember) to watch “Schweinchen Dick”. And after that, there were always black and white films with Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Laurel & Hardy. I can safely say that this was the highlight of the week. Something I was looking forward to, after a whole week at school. And with this movie about the legendary “Stan & Ollie” I was once again that little kid who sat on the sofa, dangling his legs and staring enthusiastically at the TV.

 

 

The resemblance is stunning.

I’ll immediately start with the most eye-catching aspect of this film. The two actors Steve Coogan (Stan Laurel) and John C. Reilly (Oliver Hardy) look a lot like this famous duo. It was as if these two clowns were back alive and kicking. And although a lot has changed in terms of humor, it’s still immensely funny to see the blundering of Stan and Ollie once again. And according to the film, in real life, Laurel and Hardy were also such a disaster causing hilarious moments in every situation. Just watch how Stan is struggling with his luggage as he tries to reach the reception desk in a small hotel in England. Even though a younger audience will say this is just old-fashioned and bland humor, I still couldn’t resist laughing about it a bit. Well, it must have something to do with age.

 

 

A last tour through the UK.

The basis of the film is a tour through England and Ireland. The glorious film period of Stan and Ollie is on the verge of dying. No one is interested anymore in their silly and crazy pranks. And to get a movie production house interested in producing one more movie (because the two already reached a blessed age) with them, a tour through the UK is set up. The start of this tour looked like the demise of this comic duo. They have to spend the night in second-class hotels. And not many people show up. A clear example of past glory. In short, alleged success eluded, even though their performances were an example of routinely put together sketches.

 

 

The wives arrive.

It is only when the wives of Stan and Ollie, Lucille Hardy (Shirley Henderson) and the Russian Ida Kitaeva Laurel (Nina Arianda), cross the ocean to join them in the U.K., that the tensions rise. Old wounds about a missed opportunity are reopened. And it’s abundantly clear the two women can’t get along very well. The two comedians are inseparable. They sometimes look like an old, married couple who tolerate each other’s faults and shortcomings. The funny thing is that in real life the roles were divided differently. In the movies, Stan was the klutz and a dumb guy who didn’t know what was going on half of the time. In reality, Stan was in charge and he was the one who wasn’t afraid to speak up when it came to contracts and gages. He was also the one who came up with new sketches and wrote it down in detail. And he continued to do so even after Ollie died.

 

 

Their famous last dance was touching.

Stan and Ollie were masters in the processing of subtleties. The details made it funny. And many (such as Tommy Cooper, Benny Hill, and Mr. Bean) used it in their work. “Stan & Ollie” was an extremely funny movie in many ways. But it was also extremely sad at the same time. There’s a fine line between a smile and a tear in this movie. The last performance of these icons of the silent movie in the end (although it was medically irresponsible for Ollie), was the perfect ending. A farewell dance of a famous and brilliant duo. Unparalleled in the history of comic film.

 

My rating 8/10
Links: IMDB

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Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez to Headline ‘Unstoppable’ for Ben Affleck & Matt Damon’s Production Company

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Hot off the great reviews for the upcoming Air Jordan flick, Air, it seems that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are already set for their next project, one that will star someone near and dear to the heart of the latter. News comes in from Deadline, that Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers, Out of Sight) will star in the upcoming wrestling drama Unstoppable which comes from the new Artists Equity banner from Affleck and Damon, as well as Amazon. Additionally, in a separate report, we know that Emmy-winning actor Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us, Moonlight) will star as the lead of the film, playing the son of JLo’s character.

Unstoppable will star Jerome as three-time All-American wrestler Anthony Robles, an athlete born with one leg who persevered through his inspiring story to win a National Championship at Arizona State University. Lopez is set to play his supportive mother, Judy Robles. Robles, himself, is expected to be heavily involved in the production process of the film, which again, is set to stream on Amazon and produced by Amazon Studios. The latter news makes a lot of sense, following the early success of Air and the partnership forged between Amazon and Artists Equity on that particular project. Production on Unstoppable is expected to start sometime this Summer.

Lopez appeared on screen in two romance films last year with Amazon’s Shotgun Wedding and Marry Me which got a same day release in theaters and on Peacock. She’ll next appear in The Mother on Netflix which is directed by Mulan director Niki Caro. 

Jerome is best known for his Emmy-winning role as Korey Wise in the limited Netflix series When They See Us based on the Central Park Five which was directed by Ava DuVernay. He’ll soon be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s HBO Max series Full Circle before leading Amazon’s I’m a Virgo from Sorry to Bother You filmmaker Boots Riley.

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Adventure

‘1883’ Spinoff Series ‘Bass Reeves’ Adds Dennis Quaid to Cast

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Dennis Quaid (Far from Heaven, The Day After Tomorrow) is the latest star to join the cast of Bass Reeves, a new drama series coming from Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Tulsa King) and Paramount+, according to DeadlineBass Reeves was announced as a spinoff to the Yellowstone prequel, 1883 back in May 2022 with David Oyelowo (Selma, A Wrinkle in Time) attached to star as the legendary lawman.

Bass Reeves will follow Oyelowo as someone who is known to many as “the greatest frontier hero” in American history in his own series on Paramount+. The streamer already houses so many Sheridan-fronted programs, most recently, Mayor of Kingstown starring Jeremy Renner returned for its second season while CIA drama, Lioness added to its cast with Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. Some believe that Reeves served inspiration to “The Lone Ranger” having worked as a peace officer for Indian territory capturing over 3,000 criminals on that land. Quaid will play Sherrill Lynn, a Deputy U.S. Marshall within the show.

Quaid most recently voiced the character Jaeger Clade in Disney’s animated feature Strange World which is currently available to stream on Disney+. He’ll also star in Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming HBO Max series Full Circle alongside Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes and Emmy-winner Jharrel Jerome. 

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Drama

Amy Winehouse Biopic ‘Back to Black’ Adds to Cast with Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville

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Let the casting of music biopics commence! As we’ve been hammered with news of superstar musician biopics each and every week, we have more news of one that is filming currently with Back to Black about the late, great Amy Winehouse. While it was reported back in January that Industry star, Marisa Abela will be leading as Winehouse, we now have details courtesy of Deadline on who will be joining the British pop star’s life story on screen. 

The report indicates that Jack O’Connell (Unbroken, ’71), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Another Year) and Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, The World’s End) will all appear alongside Abela in Back to Black. O’Connell is set to play Blake Fielder-Civil, the love of Winehouse’s life who she was married to from 2007 until 2009, just a few years prior to her death as their love was unfortunately addled by prescription drug abuse and alcohol as well as multiple stints in rehab for both of them. Marsan will play Winehouse’s father while Manville will play Winehouse’s maternal grandmother in the film.

Back to Black will follow the life of one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all-time in Amy Winehouse. Her sophomore album (which the film is named after) won her 5 Grammy Awards all at the young age of 25 just before her untimely death in 2011 at age 27. The film will focus on Amy’s creativity, genius and upbringing at Camden High School in the UK before she propelled into stardom.

The film will be written by Matt Greenhalgh and directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson reuniting the two of them after their 2009 film Nowhere Boy, which chronicled John Lennon’s formative years and adolescence. Taylor-Johnson is coming off directing episodes of Hunters and Solos for Amazon but is best known for helming Fifty Shades of Grey

O’Connell had a big 2022 starring in Netflix’s Lady Chatterly’s Lover and MGM+’s new original series, SAS Rogue Heroes. He’ll next star as professional race car driver Peter Collins in Ferrari. Manville most recently starred as Princess Margaret in the recent season of The Crown for Netflix and in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. Marsan is best known for playing Ray Donovan‘s brother, Terry in the hit Showtime series but will next appear in the film, Fair Play with Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor.

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