4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile) - 2007

Romania, 1987, the brutal Ceausescu communist regime is in place; birth control is illegal and abortion is a crime punishable by death. Gabita (Laura Vasliu) is almost five months into an unwanted pregnancy and in meek desperation turns to her friend and roommate, Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) for help in organizing an illegal termination. Unfortunate circumstances force the two women to use an unwanted male abortionist, Bebe (Vlad Ivanov). The bleakness of the storyline expresses a dark socio-political critique in the twilight years of a repressive dictatorship.

Director & Writer

Cristian Mungiu

Stars

Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov.

Foreign viewers not familiar with the situation in Romania in the late 1980s may be unaware that not only abortion was illegal there, but contraception as well. In an effort to increase the dwindling population, the dictatorial Communist regime had issued Decree 770 in 1967 which put a ban on not only abortion but also contraceptive medicine. The women in the beginning of the film are obtaining their contraceptive pills illegally through the black market, as well as luxury products like soap and cigarettes.

The 2008 Oscar winner in the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category at the 80th Academy Awards was an Austria's movie, an entry much criticized as conventional and artistically inferior to Cristian Mungiu's Palme d'Or winner.

Subs: English & Portuguese.

The audio is in Romanian, which is much closer to Portuguese and Spanish.

YouTube movie link: https://youtu.be/L0wSNV9K4lc

Movie copyright blocked only in Spain.

Disney+ And Hulu Programming To Be Combined Into One App By Year’s End, Bob Iger Says

Disney will roll out a single streaming app with programming from Hulu and Disney+ by the end of this year.

CEO Bob Iger announced the move during the company’s fiscal second quarter earnings call, describing it as a “logical progression of our DTC offerings.” Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ will continue to be available as stand-alone services, he noted. The three have been offered as a discount-priced bundle since 2020, with the combo helping to drive subscriber acquisition across all of the services.

Iger also said the company would be “rationalizing” the volume and investment in streaming content, though he didn’t offer specific details. Pricing, he said, would also be increasing along with the new consolidation plan. CFO Christine McCarthy said the company would take a $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion impairment charge related to content cuts and other streamlining in the company’s streaming operation.

The advertising opportunity of the single app is “exciting,” Iger said, as 40% of the company’s domestic ad units are addressable. That means they can target individual viewers via a range of traits as opposed to traditional “spray-and-pray” TV advertising. Disney has attracted 5,000 total advertisers, helped by the new horizons of streaming, Iger said. The single app, he said, will bring “greater opportunities for advertisers, while giving bundle subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience.”

Since Disney took operational control of Hulu in 2019, speculation has been growing about a newly consolidated structure for streaming.

Hulu is approaching a crossroads in early 2024. That’s when a put/call option kicks in for Disney and Comcast, which still owns one-third of Hulu. Disney would need to pay Comcast at least $9 billion to buy out that one-third stake, with the exact valuation to be determined by an arbitrator. The floor amount of $27 billion for all of Hulu was stipulated in the original agreement in 2019, which followed the close of Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox, an original stakeholder in Hulu.

The “one app” news came after the company reported solid results for its fiscal second quarter, which ended April 1. Streaming losses moderated in the quarter, but a strong showing by theme parks relative to the Covid-hobbled 2022 quarter powered the overall numbers, which met or slightly exceeded Wall Street expectations.

“We are confident we are on the right path toward streaming profitability,” Iger said.

Source: Deadline

The Pentagon Wars (Richard Benjamin, 1998)

Air Force Lt. Col. John Burton was assigned to evaluate the usefulness of the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, an Army troop carrier/scout vehicle that, in its final redesign, was effectively a deathtrap for its occupants. Burton keeps trying to execute a proper live-fire armor test on it but is constantly subverted by his temporary commanding officer, Army Maj. Gen. Partridge, in order to get it under construction and in the field.

Although the film makes it seem as if Colonel James Burton was this naive officer ordered to rubber stamp the Bradley, only to discover problems, the picture was far more complex. Burton's own book - that was made into this film - shows this in the title: "The Pentagon Wars: Reformers Challenge the Old Guard". "The Reformers" are a lobby group within the US military, that argue against the use of high-tech military systems and push for simpler, more basic systems. Burton was part of this group, and had already been involved in the procurement process on other projects, even going as far as to suggest his own Reformist designs.

Burton was also not the one to raise the red flag on the survivability of the Bradley; he was called in after the US Congress got worried about that particular issue. And the Bradley's E1 program - that eventually became the better protected A1 variant of the Bradley - was already underway when Burton got involved.

Director

Richard Benjamin

Stars

Kelsey Grammer, Cary Elwes, Viola Davis, Olympia Dukakis.

Subs: English & Portuguese.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/wHUNmoDjBvA

This movie is also published in the my other YT channel: REVISTA CINETV + as a Public movie on YouTube.

Copyright-protected content The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube.

Ninety Degrees In The Shade (1965)

A genuine oddity. This Raymond Stross produced/Jiri Weiss directed British/Czech co-production disappeared almost before it was released despite being nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Foreign Film in the English Language. It was written by David Mercer, set and filmed in Prague with a British and Czech cast, all of whom were dubbed.

Anne Heywood is the assistant manager of a shop who is having an affair with her married boss, (a miscast James Booth), while helping him steal from their employers. Things come to a head when an auditor, who fancies Heywood, starts snooping around. He is played by Rudolf Hrusinsky, one of the Czech actors in a cast that also includes Ann Todd and Donald Wolfit.

It's superbly shot in black and white by Bedrich Batka with a terrific jazz score by Ludek Hulan. Though fundamentally 'British' it looks and feels like something from the Czech New Wave and had it been made entirely in Czech, rather than very stilted English, its critical reputation might have been much higher. 

Director

Jirí Weiss

Stars

Anne Heywood, James Boot, hRudolf Hrusínský, Ann Todd.

English subs only.

YouTube movie link:  https://youtu.be/c_NHUNaJ1wQ

This movie is also published in my second channel ( Public films): REVISTA CINETV +

Copyright-protected content The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube.

The Ear (Karel Kachyna, 1990)

This Czech classic (banned when Dubcek's regime was toppled in '69) concerns Ludvik, a top bureaucrat, and his wife, Anna, coming home one night from a reception to find their home has been bugged (during a period of political purging). The paranoia and sleepless night sets Lunvik and Aanna against each other, and the film finally shows what it took to 'get head' in a Stalinist regime.

"The Ear" is a late production of the Czech new wave movement. It is politically more explicit that earlier films of this movement such as "Closely watched trains" (1966, Jiri Menzel) or "The Firemen's ball" (1967, Milos Forman).

It was made in 1970, that is after the invasion of the Warsaw pact in 1968. The film was prohibited by the communist censorship and only released in 1990.

Director

Karel Kachyna

Stars

Jirina Bohdalová , Radoslav Brzobohatý, Gustav Opocenský

Subs: English & Portuguese.

YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/Ys5luoyp4sA

Andrew Garfield To Play Carl Sagan In Sebastian Lelio’s ‘Voyagers’ As FilmNation Brings Package To Cannes Market, Daisy Edgar-Jones Set To Play Ann Druyan

Here is another hot package set to hit the Cannes Market this month: Sebastian Lelio has set Voyagers as his next film at FilmNation Entertainment, with Andrew Garfield attached to play astronomer Carl Sagan and Daisy Edgar-Jones attached to play Cosmos filmmaker Ann Druyan.

The feature is produced by Ben Browning for FilmNation Entertainment, Lynda Obst, and Druyan. FilmNation Entertainment is set to launch global sales at the Cannes Market.

The film is set in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes and a team led by Sagan set out to create a message to accompany them — The Golden Record. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission becomes an epic, unexpected love story between Sagan and his collaborator Druyan. FilmNation Entertianment paired Druyan with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg, who wrote the original screenplay based on interviews with Druyan and many others who worked on the Golden Record project.

Lelio most recently co-wrote and directed The Wonder, starring Florence Pugh with House Productions and Element Pictures producing for Netflix. It was nominated for Outstanding British Film of the Year at last year’s BAFTA. Garfield is in production in the UK on John Crowley’s We Live In Time, in which he stars alongside Florence Pugh. He most recently starred opposite Edgar-Jones in FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven, which earned Garfield his first Emmy nomination and Edgar-Jones her second Golden Globe nom. She received rave reviews for her breakout performance in the Emmy-nominated series Normal People based on Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel.

Lelio is represented by Lark, Entertainment 360 and Granderson Des Rochers. Garfield is represented by CAA, Gordon & French, ID and Sloane Offer Weber & Dern; Edgar-Jones is repped by UTA, Hamilton Hodell, Relevant, Public Eye Communications and Sloane Offer; Goldberg is represented by United Talent Agency and attorney Jeff Franke; Obst is represented by Eric Suddleson at Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson McGinnis Ryan LLP.

By Deadline

Kelsey Grammer is coming back with a new FRASIER TV Series with Paramount+/ CBS Studios.

With the Frasier sequel series for Paramount+ wrapping production, star and executive producer Kelsey Grammer and his Grammnet NH Productions has closed a first-look television deal with CBS Studios, the studio behind the Cheers/Frasier franchise.

The pact marks a homecoming for Grammer at CBS Studios. The actor-producer’s previous Grammnet banner had a series of overall deals at the studio and its predecessor Paramount Network TV, which yielded such hit series as Medium for NBC/CBS, Girlfriends for UPN/The CW, its spinoff The Game, which aired for nine seasons on UPN/The CW/BET. In addition to the Frasier sequel, Grammnet NH Productions is collaborating with CBS Studios on The Game dramedy revival for Paramount+.

The new incarnation of Frasier, which brings the famous psychiatrist (Grammer) back to Boston, comes from writers Chris Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Joe Cristalli (Life In Pieces), who executive produce with the Grammnet NH team of Grammer; Tom Russo, Head of Film and Television; and Jordan McMahon, VP of Film and Television. The series, which finished production this week, is produced by CBS Studios in association with Grammnet NH.

In addition to Frasier and the second season of The Game, within the past year, Grammnet NH produced the docuseries Phat Tuesdays: The Era of Hip-Hop Comedy for Amazon, Kelsey Grammer’s Historic Battles for America for Fox Nation and the telefilm The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve for Lifetime in which Grammer starred opposite his daughter Spencer Grammer.

Grammnet also previously produced three seasons of the supernatural horror series Light as a Feather for Hulu, the animated series You’re Not a Monster and Starz series Boss, headlined by Grammer.

KELSEY GRAMMER STARRED THE TV SERIES 'FRASIER' WHICH RAN FROM 1993 TO 2004, WINNING 37 EMMYS.

Stickmen (2001)

Jack, Thomas and Wayne are the Stickmen. They like nothing more than to have a beer in one hand, a pool cue in the other, a coin on the table and their mates around them. They play pub pool for fun and money at Dave's bar. Desperate to get out of debt, Dave gets the Stickmen entered into a high stakes pool tournament run by vicious crime boss "Daddy". He also gets them into a whole rack of trouble. Can the Stickmen beat the odds, pocket the money, win the girls and save Dave? You rack 'em, they crack 'em. And never take your eye off the ball.

Director

Hamish Rothwell

Writer

Nick Ward

Stars

Robbie Magasiva, Paolo Rotondo, Scott Wills

Simone Kessell and Anne Nordhaus spent ten hours a day over a six month period learning pool for only two minutes of screen time.

The movie was shot on location in Wellington, New Zealand.

Tristan Whalley, Managing Director of Portman Films, said around the time of completion and first release: "The script for 'Stickmen' is extremely funny, sexy and exciting - it's had wonderful feedback from everyone who has read it. We're confident that the film will appeal to a wide international audience."

Taking into account both New Zealand box office and overseas sales, the movie at the time of first release made the country's top six most profitable films of the last two decades.

Producer Michelle Turner said of the film's initial success in New Zealand: "We are absolutely thrilled with the success of 'Stickmen', particularly as a debut feature for Hamish, Nick and myself. It's one thing to do well at the New Zealand box office, but few films achieve that and sell well internationally too. All the buyers have been extremely impressed with the film and the marketing campaign (trailers, posters and so on) and we are in the process of coordinating a UK and Australian cinema release.''

Subtitles in English and Portuguese

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/8gqcDwVFA9s

Michael Douglas To Receive Honorary Palme D’Or In Cannes

Michael Douglas is to receive the Honorary Palme d’or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The festival will pay tribute to the actor and hand him the award during the Opening Ceremony on May 16.

“It is always a breath of fresh air to be at Cannes, which has long provided a wonderful platform for bold creators, artistic audacities, and excellence in storytelling,” Douglas said.

As part of the tribute, the festival will screen a previously unreleased documentary by Amine Mesta on Douglas titled Michael Douglas, The Prodigal Son on the festival site for two days, from May 14 at 6 pm to May 16 at 6 pm. The doc was produced by Folamour and will be broadcast on Arte.

The doc’s synopsis reads: “This special documentary shows us how Michael, an actor, and producer like his father Kirk, had to embrace their resemblance throughout his remarkable career in order to assert his difference. The time to learn how to become Michael when your name is Douglas.”

Douglas has a long history with the festival, first hitting the Croisette for the festival’s 32nd edition for the premiere of The China Syndrome alongside director James Bridges and co-stars Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon. In 1992, thirteen years later, Douglas joined Sharon Stone and Dutch filmmaker on the Croisette to debut Basic Instinct, which screened in Competition. Douglas had a third go in Competition in 1993 with Joel Schumacher’s Falling Down.

The Fatal Attraction actor’s last appearance in Cannes was in 2013 for the debut of Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded ensemble drama Behind the Candelabra. The film, which also starred Matt Damon, played in Competition, winning the off-shoot Palm Dog prize.

Previous recipients of the honorary award include Forest Whitaker, Jodie Foster, and Bernardo Bertolucci. The gong was first awarded to Ingmar Bergman in 1997.

Douglas added: “From my first time here in 1979 for The China Syndrome to my most recent premiere for Behind the Candelabra in 2013, the Festival has always reminded me that the magic of cinema is not just in what we see onscreen but in its ability to impact people all around the world. After more than 50 years in the business, it’s an honor to return to the Croisette to open the Festival and embrace our shared global language of film.”

Source: Deadline

Married Life (2007)

The late 1940s. Richard Langley, a bachelor playboy, narrates a story that starts when his best friend, Harry Allen, invites him to lunch to tell Richard he's in love. Trouble is, Harry's already married to Pat; he worries Pat would be hurt too deeply by a divorce. Then, Harry's new love, Kay, joins them. Richard is smitten, so when he finds out that Pat may be in love with someone else but won't tell Harry because she fears he would be too hurt, Richard can't decide if he should let all the cats out of the bag. He'd unite pairs of lovers, but he'd lose Kay. Meanwhile, Harry decides that a swift end to Pat's life would be more kind than divorcing her. He buys poison. 

Director

Ira Sachs

Stars

Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel McAdams, Pierce Brosnan.

The movie that Pierce Brosnan is watching in the movie theater is actually 1951's "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" starring Ava Gardner and James Mason. There is a visible "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" movie poster behind Pierce Brosnan as he makes a telephone call in the lobby of the theater. "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is in color whereas "East Side, West Side" was in black and white. "Pandora" was made two years after the setting of "Married Life" which starts in 1949.

Subs: English & Portuguese

YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/jTsZ-VKxuFg

Copyright owner is blocking in Brazil only, which seems bizarre!

Pedro Pascal Joins Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’ Sequel At Paramount

While the second season of HBO’s hit series The Last Of Us is in the works, its star Pedro Pascal looks to have found the project he’ll shoot during its hiatus and boy is it a big one. Sources tell Deadline, Pascal is in final negotiations to join the untitled Gladiator sequel for Paramount. He joins Paul Mescal, who will star as Lucius, Barry Keoghan, Joseph Quinn, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington. Ridley Scott is returning to direct.

The new film follows the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator, which earned more than $460 million in worldwide box office and was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning five including Best Picture. 

The role of Maximus, the Roman general-turned-gladiator, was a career-changer for Russell Crowe, not only delivering him the Best Actor Oscar but also launching him to the top of every leading-man list. Once it was made clear last year that the sequel would be Scott’s next movie, every male actor in town that fit the profile began chasing the part.

Scott also will produce, along with Scott Free President Michael Pruss as well as Doug Wick & Lucy Fisher via Red Wagon Entertainment. David Scarpa penned the script. Also returning from the original film are John Mathieson (Director of Photography), Arthur Max (Production Designer), and Janty Yates (Costume Designer). Paramount Pictures has dated the film for Nov. 22, 2024.

The first film was co-production between Universal and DreamWorks, and while DreamWorks will not be involved in the sequel, Universal has the right to partner again when the project is packaged.

While Pascal has been a major player following his scene-stealing role in his one season on Game of Thrones, his star has blasted off following his critically-acclaimed in The Last of Us, which has become one of the most popular shows in HBO’s history. While HBO is looking to get the show up and going next year, Pascal had been weighing a number of options to shoot before jumping back in to that and the opportunity on this film was too hard to pass up.

Besides The Last of Us, which will certainly have him in award season chatter this Emmy season, he also reprised his role on the hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian, which just had its season finale last week.

Source: Deadline