At The Movies

My Old School
This is a 2022 documentary directed by Jono McLeod on the subject of the Brandon Lee scandal. In 1995, it was discovered that "Brandon Lee", who had a year earlier enrolled as a fifth year student at Bearsden Academy secondary school in Bearsden, Scotland, had actually been a 30 year old former student, Brian MacKinnon, posing as a 17 year old. The story attracted widespread and sensational news coverage at the time. McLeod, the film's director, was one of MacKinnon's peers at Bearsden academy. The story of MacKinnon's time at Bearsden and his unmasking are told through a combination of present-day interviews with MacKinnon's classmates and teachers, cartoon recreations, and archival footage. MacKinnon agreed to be interviewed for the film, but did not wish to appear on camera, so the actor Alan Cumming appears as an avatar for MacKinnon, lipsyncing to the audio of his interviews.
 

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Moonhaven (Prime Video)
Moonhaven focuses on Bella Sway, a lunar cargo pilot and smuggler 100 years in the future who finds herself accused of a crime and marooned on Moonhaven, a utopian community set on a 500 square mile Garden of Eden built on the Moon to find solutions to the problems that will soon end civilization on Mother Earth. A skeptic in Paradise, Bella is sucked into a conspiracy to gain control of the artificial intelligence responsible for Moonhaven's miracles and teams with a local detective to stop the forces that want to destroy Earth's last hope before they are destroyed themselves. Moonhaven, featuring Emma McDonald, is streaming with subscription on Prime Video.

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Black Bird (Apple TV+)
Based on a true story, BLACK BIRD begins with a man's voice (Taron Egerton, Rocketman, Kingsman series) musing about the butterfly effect, a theory that considers the consequences of unexpected interconnection. His name is Jimmy Keene, and his story begins with a drug deal that goes awry, his arrest, and a court date that sees him sent to prison for ten years, rather than the five years he was offered. While in prison, he passes the time renting porn mags to fellow inmates and feeling cheated of his best years. His father (Ray Liotta, No Sudden Move, in one of his last screen roles), a former cop, tries to advise him when he's offered a deal by the FBI. The deal seems too dark, too horrible to even consider. Jimmy is asked to transfer to a maximum security prison specializing in the criminally insane to coax a confession from a suspected serial killer. Will he take the bargain? Will he survive it if he does?
 

The Buzz...

Chris Hemsworth found himself bored in lockdown and arrived on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder “bigger” than he had ever been after training excessively. He said: “It came from boredom. Sitting in COVID lockdown was like a prison. It was train, eat, train, eat. Nothing else to do. Then I turned up for the film bigger than I’ve ever been.”

Jessie James Decker has found her confidence once again. The 34 year old slayed the runway on July 15 during a fashion show for her Kittenish By Jessie James Decker Swim label during Miami Swim Week. Showing off her fit figure, Jessie worked the catwalk in a peach colored bikini with gold details from her own collection, styled with sky high gold platforms and a beach worthy wavy hairstyle.

The newest season of Stranger Things might have been its scariest yet. But thanks to Argyle (Eduardo Franco), one of the fourth season’s fan favourite characters, the series has taken a side on the debate of putting pineapple on pizza. After Mike (Finn Wolfhard) deemed the idea “blasphemous,” Argyle, who works at Surfer Boy Pizza, said what everyone who has bitten into a delicious slice of Hawaiian has thought: “Oh, fruit on your pizza is gnarly, you say? Well, I say try before you deny.”

Rapper Kodak Black was arrested in South Florida on charges of trafficking in oxycodone and possession of a controlled substance. The rapper, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, was booked Friday into jail in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he awaits a bond hearing.

The director of the cult classic Gremlins hit out at Disney, alleging that the entertainment giant ripped off the inspiration for Baby Yoda. Director Joe Dante told the San Francisco Chronicle the reason his Gremlin films remain so popular nearly 40 years after their release is down to the appeal of pint sized Mogwai Gizmo, “Which brings me, of course, to the subject of Baby Yoda, who is completely stolen and is just out-and-out copied. Shamelessly, I would think.”

Close Enough is closing up shop: HBO Max has cancelled the animated comedy after a three season run. Created by Regular Show‘s Jg Quintel, Close Enough centered on Josh and Emily, a married couple with a young daughter who share a cramped L.A. apartment with their divorced best friends Alex and Bridgette.

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis topped 100 million at the domestic box office on Friday, becoming one of the rare films without superheroes or dinosaurs to reach that mark. Globally, the Warner Bros. film has made over 170 million, an impressive result for this kind of material.

The Toronto Film Festival is set to give Nicholas Stoller’s romantic comedy Bros, starring Billy Eichner, a world premiere in September. Universal Pictures’ Bros is billed as the first major studio film with an all-openly LGBTQ principal cast and will have a high-profile red carpet launch at TIFF. Eichner and Stoller co-wrote Bros, which is produced by Judd Apatow.

Craig Robinson, the star of The Office and Hot Tub Time Machine, was evacuated from the Charlotte, N.C. comedy club where he was scheduled to perform on Saturday night after a man brandished a gun and demanded everyone leave the venue.

Jonno Roberts (Wrecked) is joining the cast of the NBC drama La Brea in a major recurring role. Roberts will play James Mallet, “a brilliant scientist and businessman who just might be trying to save the world,” per the official description.

Martin Lawrence is heading back to television with a role in AMC‘s forthcoming series Demascus. The actor will appear in a recurring capacity across three of the show’s six episodes in the role of Uncle Forty, a relative of the titular character portrayed by Okieriete Onaodowan.

Loki‘s multiverse is getting a new addition: Rafael Casal (Blindspotting) has joined the cast of Disney+’s Marvel series for its upcoming second season.

Lisa Kudrow had to do an extra audition for Friends. The actress, who played Phoebe Buffay in the classic sitcom between 1994 and 2004, admitted her path to the role was more difficult than her co-stars’ because director James Burrows wasn’t immediately convinced by her.

Pat John, an actor who played Jesse Jim on the popular Canadian television show The Beachcombers, has died at the age of 69.