Author: BRWC

Set in the rural town of Fowler, Wyoming in 1872, Emmy Award-winning Director Jon Cassar’s brooding western Forsaken tells the tale of pacifist Reverend Clayton, and his rebellious gunfighter son, John Henry.  After retiring as a gunfighter, John Henry returns home with the hope of repairing his relationship with his estranged father only to find his hometown in imminent danger.  A ruthless businessman is terrorising ranchers who refuse to sell their land to make way for a new railroad.  Torn between a desire to make amends with his father, and fight for the freedom of his hometown, John Henry finds himself in the familiar predicament that first drove him away years earlier.

Available on digital download from 4^th July and Blu-ray™ and DVD from 11^th July, FORSAKEN, starring real life father and son Donald and Keifer Sutherland, has got us thinking about other Hollywood father/ son talents.  Here’s a look some of Hollywood’s finest actors, and the sons that continue to uphold their legacies.

The Sutherlands

Donald Sutherland

With over 50 years of film and television roles under his belt, at age 80, Donald continues to impress us with his work on earlier films such as Klute and M.A.S.H., to his award winning roles in the television mini-series Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Path to War, to more recent roles in box office hits such as The Italian Job, Pride and Prejudice, and The Hunger Games Trilogy.  While this father / son duo worked together on A Time To Kill, their characters never interacted and so Forsaken marks the first film in which the pair act co-star.  Donald has four sons, and each is named for a different director that he has worked with over the course of his career.  Keifer is named after Warren Keifer, director of the first film Donald ever acted in Il castello dei morti vivi (Castle of the Living Dead).

Keifer Sutherland

Like his father, Keifer has enjoyed success in film and TV.  Arguably his most memorable role to date, Kiefer’s performance as Jack Bauer across the show’s eight seasons earned the actor six Golden Globe® nominations, with one win. The actor also made a reported $40 million on the series over three seasons, making him one of the highest grossing television stars of all time.  Other notable work from the younger Sutherland includes: A Few Good Men, Stand by Me, and The Lost Boys.

The Douglas’

Kirk Douglas

At the ripe old age of 99, few can top Kirk Douglas’ track record in Hollywood.  Not only did he star in classics including Spartacus, The Bad and the Beautiful, Lust for Life, and the Champion, he is also one of the actors responsible for helping to end The Hollywood Blacklist in 1960.  Having starred in a stage adaptation of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on Broadway in 1963, the actor fell in love with the work and purchased the rights to the film, eventually handing the project to his son, Michael.

Michael Douglas

Kirk Douglas is a tough act to follow.  Yet somehow, the Hollywood legend’s oldest son, Michael, rose to the challenge.  After his breakout role in the TV Special The Experiment, the actor went on to produce his father’s dream project, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  The older Douglas had hoped to play the leading role, but after some discussion, father and son agreed Jack Nicholson was more age appropriate for the role.  Michael won an Academy Award® for Best Picture as producer of the movie, cementing the burgeoning star’s celebrity status.  Michael’s work in front of the camera includes his Academy Award®-winning performance as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, Golden Globe® award-winning performance in the HBO’sBehind The Candelabra, and starring roles in acclaimed films such as Traffic, Wonder Boys, Fatal Attraction and many more.  Both Kirk and Michael Douglas are recipients of the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Golden Globe Award for Lifetime Achievement (1968, 2004).

The Sheens

Martin Sheen

Best known for his performance as President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet in acclaimed political drama, The West Wing and roles in Francis Ford Copolla’s Apocalypse Now and Martin Scorcese’s The Departed, Martin Sheen has four children, all of whom are also actors -including Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen.  Martin has collaborated with his sons on numerous projects including The Way, directed by Emilio, and several guest star roles on television series with Charlie.

Charlie Sheen

Though he has famously struggled with substance abuse and mental health challenges, Charlie Sheen has contributed an impressive body of work to Hollywood.  The star first started making Super 8 films with older brother Emilio, and classmates Rob Lowe and Sean Penn at Santa Monica High School in the seventies.  After high school, Charlie launched straight into acting, eventually garnering roles in hits such as The Platoon and The Rookie, where he starred opposite Clint Eastwood.  Iconic roles in nineties comedies such as Major League, Money Talks and Hot Shots! proved the actor’s gift for comedy, and in the 2000’s Charlie moved over to work on television sitcoms.  Charlie won his first Emmy® for his reprisal of Michael J. Fox’s role in Spin City, and eventually took on a role in Two and a Half Men for which he was nominated for three Emmy® awards and two Golden Globe® awards.  In 2010, Charlie became the highest paid actor on television, earning $1.8 million per episode on Two and a Half Men.

The Spalls

Timothy Spall 

An officer of the Order of the British Empire for his significant contribution to the field of the Arts in Britain, English actor Timothy Spall got his big start on the hit ITV comedy-drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.  Following his rise to fame on the small screen, Spall received a Best Actor BAFTA® nomination for his performance in the 1996 British dramatic film Secrets and Lives.  Other significant work includes The King’s Speech, Sweeney Todd, the Harry Potter series and The Last Samurai.  Timothy has three sons.

Rafe Spall

While his father has made a brilliant career of playing primarily character roles, and supporting leads, Rafe is a true leading male.  Rafe’s acting chops are a clear indication he is his father’s son.  Significant work includes Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, and most recently the film adaptation of Michael Lewis’ 2010 book The Big Short, based on 2008 housing crisis in the U.S.  Though at 33, the young actor already has an impressive resume, Rafe is on the rise, and is definitely one to look out for. Rafe is named after the lead character in the play Knight of the Burning Pestle.  Both Father and son have now played this role in their careers.

FORSAKEN IS AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AND DVD NOW. 

Bad Education

Year: 2012

World premiere: August 14, 2012

Number of Episodes: 19

Country: United Kingdom

Duration of the episode: 28 min.

‘Bad Education’ is British youth comedy series that entices viewers into the walls of the high school. Here, eccentric and incompetent teacher is trying to put at least a grain of knowledge in the heads of his overage students who do not wish to learn and are tired of the term papers. Every day, this training brings a lot of funny incidents and ridiculous situations. The film stars Jack Binstead, Mathew Horne, Ethan Lawrence, Kae Alexander and other young actors.

Cast and crew of ‘Bad Education’

Directed by Elliot Hegarty, Ben Fuller, Al Campbell

Writers: Ben KEVI, Shaun Pye, Dan Suimer and others.

Producers: Pippa Brown, Ben Kevin, Chris Sussman and others.

The content

Alfie has recently become a teacher. Not a long time ago, he himself was sitting at the desk. And since  that moment he did not grow older and mature. Alfie behaves slightly better than the students during his classes who perceive a new teacher for the person with whom you can take the liberty at doing almost everything. Meanwhile, despite the obvious Alfie’s incompetency, school director encourages his frivolous behavior, believing that this is a new way to interact with children. But the subpricipal clearly understands that Alfie is just an idiot, that needs to be educated the same way as his students.

 

Awkward

Year: 2011

Country: United States

A comedy drama “Awkward” is an American youth series about a teenage girl, her friends, parents, classmates and many youth issues. The main author and creator of the series is Lauren Iungerich. The lead is done by young actress Ashley Rickards. Nikki DeLoach, Beau Mirchoff, Ashley Rickards, Brett Davern and other young stars also took part in this project.

Number of episodes: 12 episodes (the first season).

Duration of episodes: 20 minutes.

 

Fresh Meat

Year: 2011

World premiere: September 21, 2011

Country: United Kingdom

Duration: 40 min.

The British comedy-drama series ‘Fresh meat’ tells the story about the first-year students, recently admitted to the University. Quite different young men and women must find something in common between them, to live peacefully in the same dormitory and classrooms. The main roles in the series are performed by the young cast of Charlotte Ritchie, Greg McHugh, Jack Whitehall, Zawe Ashton and other young actors.

Directed by: David Kerr, Annie Griffin, Gordon Anderson and others.

Writers: Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Tony Roche and others.

Produced by: Rhonda Smith, Judy Koynihan, Tony Roche and others.

Waters, Oregano, JP, Josie, and Howard Kingsley have recently headed to college and now master the new science – how to be adults in the student community. Life on campus is unlike anything else here because has its own laws, its own rules and its fun. Young people are always concerned about issues of sex, booze, parties etc. The six main characters of the series will have to figure out where they were, what kind of people surround them, and most importantly – who they are. To understand yourself is not so easy, especially when one has a lot of oddities, eccentricities or diffidences. But what initially seems to be a frustrating experience, soon becomes familiar and funny and it reveals characters better!

 

Pretty Little Liars

Year: 2010 Premiere: June 8, 2010

Country: USA Studio: ABC, Alloy Entertainment 

Duration: 42 min.

Directed by: Norman Buckley, Ron Lagomarsino, Chad Lowe, and others.

Written by: Liyya Barash, Michael J. Sinkuemani, Charles Grant Craig and others.

Starring: Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson, Troian Bellisario, Shay Mitchell, Sasha Pieterse, Keegan Allen, Ian Harding, Holly Marie Combs, Chad Lowe, Laura Leighton, Bianca Lawson.

The plot of the series

The series “Pretty Little Liars” is the story about ex-girlfriends charming schoolgirls Spencer, Aria, Hanna and Emily. They have become victims of their own intrigues and anonymous messages from a mysterious stranger. He knows too many secrets that keep these girls in tension.

The action takes place in a small town called Rosewood. Four young high school student Spencer, Aria, Hanna and Emily lead an active social life within the walls of the local school. Once upon a time there were five of them, but after the next party Alison disappears. A year later, the girls have to reunite their beloved company, as each of them receives mysterious messages from anonymous “E”. It would seem that the answer is obvious – only missing girl knew so many details about the secret lives of their friends, but the body of the deceased Alison was found in a pit in the vicinity of Rosewood, and the circle of suspects is getting wider every day. Spencer is in love with her sister’s boyfriend, and is not going to stop doing her staff, until she gets what she wants. Aria dreams about her teacher of English, whom she accidentally meets in a bar. Emily constantly mocks a new girl in school – Maya. Hannah makes absolutely horrible things to preserve and enhance her beauty: she is obsessed with the idea of being perfect. But the most important thing is that they all have one big secret that is associated with the time when their best friend Alison dissapeared. It can destroy the lives of each of them … This “E” is aware of literally everything connected with these girls, all their innermost secrets…

 

NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE, 1978

Of all the movies that exist about student’s life this one is a pioneer in its genre. National Lampoon is the name of the revolutionary American humor magazine, that was on the rise in the 70’s. Back then its mention was a guarantee of success. It is not surprising that a movie about two rival fraternities hit the box-office despite its small budget. John Landis filmed this movie, thereby took his step in the history of comedy forever.

One of the producers was the Ivan Reitman, and one of the scriptwriters – National Lampoon writer Chris Miller, who drew inspiration from his own adventures. The movie invented, in fact, the whole film structure where people party to the death as well as the cliché of the provoking humor. To put it simply, this is a dream of most students that came true, the dream about vdiverse life in college, which, incidentally, does not spoil person’s future.

 

MONA LISA SMILE, 2003

A naive, but inspiring story about the power of progressive views. Young teacher Anne Watson works in the American College of Art Wellesley, but it turns out that conservative local orders are contrary to her idealism. She is forced to indulge in the patriarchal idea that marriage is more important than education rather than inspire her students to do great things. Despite her outstanding talents, students are of the same conservative opinion, but 50s are not eternal! Thanks to the efforts of Miss Watson, one by one, students begin to get the idea that women have no less talents than men, and certainly have the right to be independent and to follow their dreams. “Mona Lisa Smile” is a feminist Christmas tale, which brought together Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

 

PITCH PERFECT, 2012

Another film about the power of female friendship, multiplied by study and faith in yourself. “Pitch Perfect” so successfully maneuvers among the pitfalls of the genre, and it has got an army of fans, and even a sequel. The plot sounds like the plot for fans of the show “The Voice”, but the audience of this film is much broader. The group of students organizes a cappella group to compete with other colleges. Girls sing in a nice and clean manner, but the main thing is not this. The main heroine, played by Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and excellent jokes. Much of the success of the film is due to the handiwork of the director Elizabeth Banks.

By Tessa Boyce.

In today’s world of streaming, downloading and subscribing, we are inundated with different television shows to choose from. For those of us with kids, sometimes we want to take a break from watching age-appropriate shows and delve into the dark, creepy or funny shows directed only for adults. TV Guidelines uses the TV-MA rating for the shows with the most extreme language, violence and nudity — many shows out there exhibit all three.

PrettyFamous, an entertainment site by Graphiq, found the 10 best TV shows with a TV-MA rating. TV shows with more than 30,000 votes on IMDb were ranked by their Smart Rating, a score out of 100 that takes into account IMDb ratings and IMDb votes, as well as Emmy awards. Ties were broken by using the number of IMDb votes.

Networks such as HBO, Showtime and FX don’t have to play by the rules of basic cable, and most of the shows on this list originally aired on one of these networks. Netflix is new to the television game and also producing intense dramas with steamy sex scenes and graphic violence. However, these series don’t rely on adult content for shock value, but rather use themes to accurately depict the story and engross the audience. From historical dramas, bizarre sci-fi, riveting murder mysteries to comedy news satires, there are many great entertainment choices to choose from when the parental controls are turned off.

#10. Fargo

#9. Band of Brothers

#8. House of Cards

#7. True Detective

#6. Homeland

#5. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

#4. Dexter

#3. The Walking Dead

#2. The Sopranos

#1. Game of Thrones

Research Your Favorite TV Shows on PrettyFamous

There is a certain type of cinema fan who, through love of a film, has as much fun spotting errors and picking it apart as just watching it. This is an admirable trait . So many things can be revealed on a re-watch and if some of them are minor inaccuracies, that’s ok. In fact, could we say that spotting a whiskey bottle-related goof in a James Bond film gives us a more intimate relationship with the whole series, the whole mythology? The Bond franchise is a prime place for this kind of affectionate critique. After all, from the silliness of Moonraker (1979) to the seriousness and glamour of Skyfall (2012), Bond is here to entertain us. There are some fantastic goofs and inaccuracies in the series, which are well worth exploring.

Geographical Confusion

Eagle-eyed aficionados of Bond films have spotted numerous geographical goofs, which mainly show that films are not always shot in the locations they depict. No surprise there. However, because the films, and the books depend on their author’s and main character’s reputation for being well-travelled, café signs in the wrong language and suspicious number plates can stick out. A particularly good moment for suspension of disbelief occurs during the London scenes in Skyfall, where an underground station gets knocked through by a train during a tense chase through the tube system. In Spectre (2015), the film messes with the streetscape of the Vatican, and London comes in for some reinterpretation! From Dr No (1962) onwards, the films have been shot on location, with over 35 countries lending their landscapes to the Bond juggernaut.

Source: youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com

The Curious Poker Game in Casino Royale

Confidence is central to Bond’s character, so much so that we’re often convinced, no matter how outlandish the situation. Though the days of falling into shark tanks are long past, 2006’s Casino Royale features a poker game which surprised viewers in the know. Bond is playing villain Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) at No Limit Hold’em, and the whole plot hangs on the winning hand. Although the film did have a poker advisor in British poker player Thomas Sanbrook, he probably had to yield to the demands of the genre. For a start, the $115 million pot that Bond wins is far higher than any land-based poker game would usually involve. More subtly, Bond’s behaviour as the players’ hands are revealed is hardly consistent with poker etiquette, the general consensus of how players should behave at the poker table. Bond inflicts the “slow roll” on his adversary, not revealing his winning hand until the villain thinks he’s won. This is considered poor sportsmanship in poker circles and certainly not expected of the gentleman spy. Letting your opponent think that they are winning the pot only to very slowly reveal that they have lost is a serious no-no in poker tournaments.

Not Quite El Dia de Muertos

The stunning opening sequence of Spectre (2015) shows Bond tracking a mysterious man through Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City. James Bonds fans are always waiting in anticipation for the opening sequence of each new film, and this one was the most spectacular yet. To achieve this, some inaccurate scenes have been added, along with the 1500 extras. In fact, the 2-day celebration does not involve parades and Halloween-like floats, like it does in JB’s world. Instead, families spend time at home or in cemeteries, remembering and celebrating loved ones who have died. Bond may have been able to hide in busy city streets, but he’d be more likely to duck behind public altars called ofrendas, or walk along carrying a large bunch of flowers, used to beckon the spirits of the dead. The filmmakers could have been trying to avoid the comedy excesses of the Brosnan era, with Aston Martins knocking over carts of oranges. However, as it often happens, the need for thrills and spills has won out over accuracy.

Medical Inaccuracies

The most, ahem, memorable moment in Goldfinger (1964) is the sight of Shirley Eaton apparently suffering death by gilding. There is a myth surrounding this idea and the scene itself, the belief that it is possible to suffocate by being covered in paint. This is not possible, and though there were doctors present during filming, Shirley was of course unharmed. Maybe it’s in the spirit of “don’t try this at home,” but the Bond series is full of dubious medical emergencies. At one stage during the poker match we discussed earlier, at the end of Casino Royale, Bond is poisoned. As he is diagnosed by MI6, in a genuinely thrilling scene, he self-administers a defibrillator. This is not a good idea, and could in fact cause changes to the heartbeat or stop it altogether. Similarly, in Skyfall the creepy villain Silva (Javier Bardem, on top scary form) claims grotesque injuries from an unlikely substance. It’s these moments which require our suspension of disbelief the most and if you’re a true Bond fan, it’s freely given.

This is the important thing about the Bond films – they have survived so long because there’s so much in them to admire, and to enjoy. The reinventions over the years have helped, bringing female characters to the fore and finding ways to make the bad guys ever scarier. But like all fictional universes like Marvel’s Avengers, or J.R.R Tolkien’s world, there is a whole Bond hinterland waiting to be explored. We think this includes the goofs and movie mistakes. When we spot these, or joke about them we’re celebrating the longevity of the series and the intention behind the work of hundreds of cast and crew. That is, to entertain us.