Norman Reedus and Bruce McQuiston in ‘Ride with Norman Reedus’ (Photo Credit: Mark Schafer/AMC)
Norman Reedus (fan favorite Daryl on The Walking Dead) will be hitting the road for further adventures in Ride with Norman Reedus. AMC has officially renewed the non-fiction travel series for a second season. According to the official announcement, Ride with Norman Reedus‘ second season will consist of six brand new one-hour episodes.
“We’re so excited to continue this journey with Norman Reedus,” stated Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV. “Norman’s love of motorcycles and adventure, and his ability to connect with people are the drivers of this series, and we look forward to more great Rides next season.”
“The reaction to Ride has been incredibly positive. I am glad to be able to show audiences a different side of me and we have gotten a great response to the candid conversation and the fact that it’s obviously not scripted,” said Reedus. “I feel like we are just getting started and there are so many amazing places we have yet to go – the opportunities for the show are endless.”
The series follows motorcycle enthusiast Reedus as he travels around to a variety of amazing locales. Season one included guest stars Balthazar Getty, Robert Rodriguez, Brent Hinds from Mastodon, Jake Lamagno, bike builder Jason Paul Michaels, and artist/biker Imogen Lehtonen. The finale featured Easy Rider star Peter Fonda. Ride with Norman Reedus season one averaged 800k total viewers.
Among the locations visited in season one were Death Valley, the Pacific Coast Highway, Appalachia, Louisiana, Texas, and the Florida Keys.
“Took a job, looking for some men to join me,” says the bounty hunter Chisolm (Denzel Washington). “Is it difficult?” asks the gambler Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt). “Impossible,” replies Chisolm. “How many you got so far?” asks Faraday. “You and me,” answers Chisolm with a big grin on his face as the two men join forces and set out to find other talented gunman to join them in the 2016 remake of the 1960s classic Western film, The Magnificent Seven.
It’s 1879 and the town of Rose Creek has been taken over by Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), an industrialist who’s interested in the gold mine just outside of town. In order to keep the town under his control, he has bought off the sheriff and his deputies and brought in his own ruthless men to scare the citizens into submission. After Bogue once again intimidates the townspeople by burning the church and killing a few men who speak out, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) – who has just been made a widow – makes it her business to take everything of value she and the other townspeople have and use it to buy hired guns to take Bogue on. She finds Chisolm who responds to her request for help by saying he’s been offered a lot in his line of work but never everything. Chisolm accepts and talks Faraday into the job by buying his horse back after he lost it in a bet.
The two men set out to find other men who can handle themselves with weapons to join them in their quest. These include a Southern gentleman and Civil War veteran/sharpshooter named Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) and his partner Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), a Mexican outlaw called Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a young Indian warrior named Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), and a frontiersman tracker and trapper named Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio). Chisolm and his six hired killers come together to both defend the people of Rose Creek and to get them ready for the bloody showdown that’s coming between them and Bogue’s men.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, who directed Hawke and Washington in the Oscar-winning Training Day, The Magnificent Seven has a strong cast and breathtaking cinematography but fails to reach the level of greatness, depth, character development and memorable action scenes that the original film did so magnificently. Denzel Washington is well cast as Chisolm, the leader of the seven who picks the right men to join him and seems to know how his enemy Bogue will come after them. Unfortunately it’s a character type that Washington has played many times before so while it’s a solid performance, it’s not one of his stand-out roles.
Two actors who really do stand out with their impressive performances are Ethan Hawke and Vincent D’Onofrio. Hawke is captivating as the Southern Civil War vet (nicknamed the Angel of Death) whose struggle with fear and doubt get the better of him. His character is modeled after Robert Vaughn’s in the original but Hawke’s performance here is even better than Vaughn’s – a true accomplishment indeed. D’Onofrio is perfectly quirky and at times very funny as the tracker/trapper Horne, a God-fearing man who comes to respect and admire his colleagues and considers it a true honor to be defending the good people of Rose Creek from Bough, a man he dubs “a true evil.” D’Onofrio’s Horne is not a reworking of one of the characters from the 1960s film but an original character which makes him all the more interesting.
Chris Pratt’s Faraday is the affable jokester in the group modeled after Steve McQueen’s character Vin in the original film. Pratt even says some of the exact same lines McQueen did in the original movie which makes it impossible not to compare him to McQueen. Pratt is amusing as Faraday but fails to dominate the screen and steal scenes the way McQueen so wonderfully did in the 1960s classic.
The cinematography and scope of the film are visually breathtaking, especially during the journey to Rose Creek while Chisolm and Faraday are seeking other gunmen to join their gang. Some of the shots and camera work are reminiscent of cinematographer Charles Lang’s work in director John Sturges’ film as well as cinematographer Dean Semler’s work in director Kevin Costner’s Western epic Dances with Wolves. The action and shootout scenes are hectic, suspenseful, and chaotic, but aren’t visually memorable.
With a well-rounded cast, two stand-out performances, and beautiful cinematography, The Magnificent Seven doesn’t quite match the flawlessness of the original Seven but is still an exciting, above average, well-executed, and entertaining film in its own right. This version of The Magnificent Seven is one of the few remakes that is not only faithful to the original but also stands on its own, a film any Western movie fan is sure to enjoy. See it.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for extended and intense sequences of Western violence, and for historical smoking, some language and suggestive material
Supergirl‘s second season will premiere on October 10, 2016 with an episode titled ‘The Adventures of Supergirl.’ Season one aired on CBS but season two has a new home on The CW, joining the network’s popular comic book-inspired trio of Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow and making it easier for multiple superhero cross-over episodes.
The first episode of Supergirl‘s season two finds a new superhero helping to save mankind. Superman, talked about but not seen in the first season, appears in the first episode of season two with Teen Wolf‘s Tyler Hoechlin playing the Man of Steel. Episode one of the second season airs at 8pm ET/PT and was directed by Glen Winter from a script by Andrew Kreisberg and Jessica Queller (story by Greg Berlanti and Kreisberg).
The Adventures of Supergirl Plot: When a new threat emerges in National City, Kara/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) teams up with her cousin, Clark Kent/Superman (Hoechlin), to stop it. Kara is thrilled to have family in town but it leaves Alex (Chyler Leigh) feeling a bit left out. Meanwhile, Hank (David Harewood) and Supergirl are stunned by the pod that came crashing to Earth.
The Season 2 Plot: Kara has left the safety of being Cat Grant’s assistant in order to figure out what she really wants to do, while as Supergirl she continues to work at the DEO., protecting the citizens of National City and searching for Jeremiah and Cadmus. Along the way, she will team up with Superman to battle new villains, as she strives to balance her personal life with her life as a superhero.
Bernadette Peters and Gael Garcia Bernal star in Amazon’s ‘Mozart in the Jungle.’
Born into an Italian-American family in Queens, New York, in 1948, Bernadette Peters (nee Bernadette Lazzara), began her interest in performing at an early age. At age three, she appeared on the television show Juvenile Jury, and then on to Name That Tune, Kraft Mystery Theatre, and Hallmark Hall of Fame. Her first appearance on a New York stage was in the musical The Most Happy Fella in 1959.
Sharpening her stage-craft as a teenager, she continued to appear in big and small productions such as the national tour of Gypsy as Dainty June and Off-Broadway in musicals The Penny Friend (1966) and Curley McDimple (1967).
Her big stage breaks came as she was cast in George M! with stage icon Joel Grey (Cabaret), for which she won the Theatre World Award, and then as Ruby in the Off-Broadway smash production of the musical Dames At Sea in 1968 and won the Drama Desk Award. For On The Town she won her first Tony Award nomination, and the splashy musical Mack and Mabel made her a major New York stage star when she received her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
Strangely, she decided to move out to Hollywood in 1970. There were great opportunities for her in films and television, and she intended to cash in on them. While in Hollywood she starred with Steve Martin in The Jerk (1979) and the musical role written for her by Martin in Pennies From Heaven. The part of a teacher turned prostitute won Peters the Golden Globe. She and Martin also carried on a torrid love affair. Also during this Hollywood period she appeared in Clint Eastwood’s Pink Cadillac, and Mel Brook’s Silent Movie (Golden Globe nom). Of the more than 32 films she has starred in, the list also includes Woody Allen’s Alice, the musical Annie, The Longest Yard, W.C. Fields and Me, and Slaves of New York.
She didn’t stay away from Broadway for long and returned to star in the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine hit musical Sunday in the Park with George (1984), which definitely put her in the league with stage icons who came before her. She took home her third Tony Award nomination. The show was videotaped for PBS in 1986.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s relatively unknown Song and Dance in 1985 strangely enough brought Peters her first Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Although the show got negative reviews, Peters outshone the material.
The capstone of Peters’ Broadway career seems to be the Stephen Sondheim/ James Lapine hit Into The Woods. The show came along in 1987. Her performance was considered flawless and brought her a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. This show cemented her relationship with Sondheim and is considered the best interpreter of his difficult music.
With no good stage roles coming her way, she took a hiatus and squeezed in some work on television and films. She made innumerable appearances with Johnny Carson, Carol Burnett, George Burns, and Sonny and Cher. She did the television movie The Last Best Year (1990) with Mary Tyler Moore and made a few TV series pilots, one with Christine Baranski.
But the lure of Broadway was too much, and she returned to New York to star in a new musical version of Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl in 1993. Oscar® winning Marvin Hamlisch created the music for her. She was again nominated for a Tony Award. After the show closed, she took a little more time off to appear in a few television series such as Live With Regis and Kelly, The Closer, and the mini-series The Odyssey.
When she opened in the revival of Annie Get Your Gun with Tom Wopat in 1999, all Broadway was agog at her new interpretation of the old Ethel Merman hit. She swept the awards that year, winning the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award, and Tony Award. She had returned in a blaze of glory.
With revival being the hot thing in New York at the time, Peters was asked to star in another old Ethel Merman hit, Gypsy. As Mamma Rose, Peters knocked everybody off the stage and was nominated for both the Drama Desk Award and the Tony Award in 2003. The show closed in 2004.
After another six-year absence from Broadway—but filling in her time with concerts, television and film work—she triumphed in the revival of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music in 2010-2011. Also during that period she married investment broker Michael Wittenberg. The marriage ended tragically when he was killed in a plane crash in 2005.
In 2012, Peters appeared on the NBC musical hit Smash. She played a retired Broadway star who is the mother of one of the young dancers on the show. She did five episodes.
In 2014 she traveled to Australia to do a series of concerts. These were in conjunction with ones she had done in Hollywood, New York and London. Returning from Australia, she immediately was cast in the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle, playing the chairwoman of the orchestra since 2014.
Miss Peters is active in several charities including Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and serves on its Board of Trustees.
A scene from ‘Star Wars Rebels’ season 3 (Disney XD)
Season three of the animated sci-fi action series Star Wars Rebels will premiere on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 8:30pm ET/PT on Disney XD. The network’s just unveiled new videos from the upcoming special one-hour season premiere titled “Steps into the Shadow: Parts I and II,” and they’ve confirmed the plot description for season three.
The Star Wars Rebels voice cast includes Freddie Prinze Jr as Kanan Jarrus, Taylor Gray as Ezra Bridger, Tiya Sircar as Sabine Wren, Steve Blum as Zeb Orrelios, Vanessa Marshall as Hera Syndulla, Sam Witwer as Darth Maul, David Oyelowo as Agent Kallus, and Dee Bradley Baker as Captain Rex, Captain Gregor and Commander Wolffe. The third season will also introduce the new characters Grand Admiral Thrawn (voiced by Lars Mikkelsen) and Bendu (voiced by Tom Baker).
The Season 3 Plot: As Kanan deals with the aftermath of his encounter with Maul, Ezra is tasked with leading rebel missions seeking ships, supplies and new recruits eager to join the cause. With the pursuing forces of the Empire now under the direction of the cunning Grand Admiral Thrawn, the rebels must take greater risks, forge unlikely alliances and face foes from past in their efforts to support the growing rebellion. Let by a more powerful Ezra, the rebels break an old friend out of prison to help acquire ships for the fleet, but Kanan discovers that Ezra’s new skills come from a dark place.
Margot Robbie stars in Warner Bros Pictures’ ‘Suicide Squad.’
Saturday Night Live has tapped Margot Robbie to host the first episode of the 42nd season. Yes, you read that correctly; we are coming up on the late night show’s 42nd season. The 42nd season’s first episode will mark Robbie’s first time as the show’s host. Robbie will be joined by The Weeknd as the musical guest, his second time on the SNL lineup.
Season 42 will premiere on October 1, 2016.
SNL‘s 42nd season premiere will also be the first episode with improv performer Alex Moffat, America’s Got Talent finalist Melissa Villaseñor, and Mikey Day. Day has been a writer on the series since 2013. The three new regular cast members are taking the place of departing SNL players Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah, and Jon Rudnitsky.
Margot Robbie’s film credits include Suicide Squad, The Legend of Tarzan, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Focus, Z for Zachariah, The Wolf of Wall Street, and About Time.
NBC’s Better Late Than Never has earned a second season order. Season one stars Henry Winkler, William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw, George Foreman, and Jeff Dye will all return for more adventures in a foreign country where they’ll once again eat bizarre food and be forced out of their comfort zones. Season one found the fivesome visiting Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand. There’s no word yet on where the group will head to in season two.
“The success of season one was such a joyous surprise,” stated series star and executive producer Henry Winkler. “I can’t wait to see where Bill, Terry, George, Jeff and I will be exploring next. Anybody know where we are going??? They don’t tell me anything!!!”
Announcing the renewal, NBC Entertainment President of Alternative and Reality Group Paul Telegdy said, “Like everyone else, we fell in love with all the adventures Henry, William, Terry, George and Jeff faced as they educated themselves and adapted to new customs in foreign cities. This innovative format allows for unprecedented escapades that cut through the clutter and grabbed viewer’s attention. We can’t wait to see what places they explore and how they adapt to their environment in season two.”
The very short first season was a surprise ratings hit for the network. The four episode season one earned the #1 spot among new broadcast networks shows over the 2016 summer season, averaging a 1.8 rating, a 7 share in adults 18-49, and 8.1 million viewers overall.
Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson in ‘Mr. Robot’ (Photo by Michael Parmelee/USA Network)
As has been the case all season, the well-chosen music in the season two finale of USA Network’s Mr. Robot enhances the action, mood, and conveys information. Kraftwerk’s “Hall of Mirrors” played as Elliot (the deserving Emmy-winner, Rami Malek) stepped off an elevator into a room with Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) and Tyrell Wellick (Martin Wallstrom). The lyrics describe Elliot’s mind: “the young man stepped into the hall of mirrors,” and “sometimes he saw his real face and sometimes a stranger at his place.” “He made up the person he wanted to be, and changed into a new personality,” is exactly what Elliot does.
In his voice-over, Elliot even tells us that “what we perceive isn’t the real world at all; just mind’s best guess.” All of this is setting the stage for the later confrontation between the three personas of Elliot Alderson.
Meanwhile Joanna Wellick (Stephanie Corneliussen) confronts Scott Knowles (Brian Stokes Mitchell) at his home with the knowledge that he was the one, not her husband, sending gifts and making phone calls to her. Scott cries as he relates that his late wife was pregnant when she was killed. Joanna then provokes him, calling him weak and pathetic, and infuriated, he chokes her and repeatedly hits her in the face.
This was evidently part of her plan because Joanna, with an injured face, goes to her lover Derek’s (Chris Conroy) apartment. He is angered by what Scott has done to her. Joanna tells him how he could punish Scott by setting him up for his wife’s murder. Derek is to tell the police that he saw Scott coming down the stairwell from the roof where his wife’s body was found, disheveled, sweaty, and out of breath. When the police question why he changed his story, Derek is to say that Scott Knowles intimidated him but his conscience got the better of him. There is a poster in the background of this scene with the word “RUN!” and this is exactly what poor Derek should do from the dangerous Joanna Wellick.
Meanwhile FBI Agent Dom DiPierro (Grace Gummer) is interviewing Darlene (Carly Chaikin) who survived the assault by the Dark Army that killed Cisco. When Darlene asserts her Fifth Amendment right, Agent Santiago (Omar Metwally) informs her that as a result of the Patriot Act she can be termed an “enemy combatant” with no rights. Dom asks to interview Darlene alone and she tries to establish empathy with “we’re not so different,” and “we’re both Jersey girls.” Darlene is having none of it and finally Dom asks Santiago if they can show her “we’re smarter” because Dark Army is cleaning house and something is about to go down.
Dom tells Darlene that they are both parts of the biggest event in world history and that Darlene’s a lot more special than she thinks. She leads Darlene through the FBI offices to a room covered with whiteboards. They focus on one as Dom explains the FBI’s strategy. They wanted to get the man in the middle so they sat back and waited, like a python’s approach, for the right moment to strike. She tells Darlene that the Dark Army didn’t kill Romero, a stray bullet did. Then we see the whiteboard that they have been looking at and it shows all the key characters, including Elliot and Darlene, and their connections to one another. Darlene’s response is “You’ve got to be (expletive) kidding me.”
Back in the room from the opening segment, Tyrell shows Elliot stage 2 plans that look to Elliot like a blueprint for a building and dissembled firmware for an uninterruptable power supply. Elliot thinks that the Dark Army, Mr. Robot, Whiterose, and Tyrell, are planning something and they think that he’s the ringleader. Tyrell shows Elliot the building next to him where E Corp’s paper documents are coming in from around the country and Elliot remembers that stage 2 involves blowing up the building to destroy all the paper copies of E Corp’s records.
Elliot wants no part of this plan saying that it would kill many people. He starts to delete the malware when both Mr. Robot and Tyrell try to get him to stop. Tyrell finally pulls a gun and shoots Elliot. This whole segment is actually an internal struggle between different parts of Elliot. Tyrell was indeed a real person who is probably dead, but Elliot has incorporated his persona just as he did with his dead father. All three aspects are different. The “Elliot” aspect is essentially ethical and well-meaning; his hacking was with good intentions. His hacking resulted in the arrest of a child pornographer; saved Krista from a relationship with an adulterer; and led to the arrest of Ray.
The “Tyrell” persona is a sociopath. He killed Sharon Knowles. One clue that Tyrell is one of Elliot’s personalities relates to the red wheelbarrow poem that Tyrell recites to Elliot early in the episode. Note that Elliot’s composition book was labeled “Red Wheelbarrow.” He has been in the background until the last two episodes. The “Mr. Robot” personality, while protective of Elliot, is also rash. They both want stage 2 to go forward and Elliot stood in their way. It looks as if Tyrell is the dominant personality for the time being.
When “Tyrell” calls Angela, she says “Tyrell” questioningly. She has probably been told by Whiterose that she might hear from Elliot as Tyrell. The viewers have no idea of the amount of time Whiterose or the Dark Army has spent with Elliot as himself, as Mr. Robot, or as Tyrell.
In the last scene, Mobley and Trenton, with new identities, are taking a break from their work at a Fry’s in a location far from New York. Trenton thinks that she possibly has found the key that will undo all the harm done by the 5/9 hack. As Kenny Rogers’s “We’ve Got Tonight,” plays in the background, Leon comes up to them. Since nothing is in this program is by chance, it is natural to question whether Leon’s appearance is ominous as “your plans don’t include me,” might suggest, or helpful as the lyrics “both of us lonely, longing for shelter” suggest, as this is certainly true for them.
There are few shows as innovative and complex as this one. It invites speculation and may not be for the casual viewer, but if one likes mysteries and puzzles, it is a rewarding experience.
If you’ve ever asked yourself who would win in a fist fight between Ice Cube and Charlie Day, then you might want to check out Fist Fight. The New Line Cinema and Village Roadshow Pictures release pits Day vs. Ice Cube in a comedy set in high school. Directed by Richie Keen (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) from a script by Van Robichaux and Evan Susser, the cast also includes Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell, Dean Norris, Christina Hendricks, Dennis Haysbert, and JoAnna Garcia Swisher. Fist Fight will open in theaters on February 17, 2017.
The Plot: On the last day of the year, mild-mannered high school English teacher Andy Campbell (Day) is trying his best to keep it together amidst senior pranks, a dysfunctional administration and budget cuts that put jobs on the line. But things go from bad to worse when he accidentally crosses his much tougher and deeply feared colleague, Ron Strickland (Ice Cube), who challenges Campbell to an old-fashioned throw down after school. News of the fight spreads like wildfire and ends up becoming the very thing this school, and Campbell, needed.
Panic! At The Disco will be heading out on a U.S. arena tour kicking off on February 24, 2017 in Uncasville, CT. The ‘Death Of A Bachelor Tour’ will hit 35 cities including New York City, Denver, San Diego, and Houston before finishing up in Sunrise, Fl on April 15th. MisterWives and Saint Motel will be joining band on the road, with tickets going on sale for the tour beginning on September 30th at 10am local time.
Panic! At The Disco’s 2017 headlining tour is in support of their fifth studio album which reached gold status by selling 500,000 copies. Only 11 albums, including Death Of A Bachelor, reached that 500k mark in 2016, and only Panic! At The Disco’s album was from the alternative genre. Singles “Hallelujah” and “Victorious” also were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album marked the band’s first in two years and was produced by Jake Sinclair. Singles “La Devotee,” “Emperor’s New Clothes,” “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time,” “Hallelujah” and Victorious” all made it into the top 15 on the Hot Rock Songs chart.
2017 DEATH OF A BACHELOR TOUR DATES:
*Panic! At The Disco and MisterWives Only
2/24/2017 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun
2/25/2017 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
2/26/2017 Portland, ME Cross Insurance Arena
2/28/2017 Pittsburgh, PA Petersen Events Center
3/2/2017 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
3/4/2017 Worcester, MA DCU Center
3/7/2017 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
3/8/2017 Cleveland, OH Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University
3/10/2017 Auburn Hills, MI Palace of Auburn Hills
3/11/2017 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
3/12/2017 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
3/14/2017 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
3/15/2017 Omaha, NE Baxter Arena
3/17/2017 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
3/18/2017 Orem, UT UCCU Center
3/19/2017 Boise, ID Taco Bell Arena
3/21/2017 Seattle, WA WaMu Theater
3/22/2017 Portland, OR Moda Center*
3/24/2017 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center*
3/25/2017 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
3/26/2017 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena
3/28/2017 Inglewood, CA The Forum
3/29/2017 Phoenix, AZ Talking Stick Resort Arena
3/31/2017 Allen, TX Allen Event Center
4/1/2017 Houston, TX Toyota Center
4/2/2017 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
4/4/2017 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
4/5/2017 Saint Louis, MO Scottrade Center
4/7/2017 Birmingham, AL BJCC Arena
4/8/2017 Memphis, TN FedEx Forum
4/9/2017 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
4/11/2017 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex
4/12/2017 Duluth, GA Infinite Energy Center
4/14/2017 Orlando, FL Amway Center
4/15/2017 Sunrise, FL BB&T Center*
