by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Hey so, Coronavirus marches in London? Well, in Hollywood, you get a different reaction. Okay, there is no segue there, except that the Pandemic makes people do weird things. Take beloved comedian Jack Black He looks like Rip Van Winkle lately. But? Not anymore, ps. Watch!  From Screenmancer We stole this from the Upbraidy Bunch, who stole it first. That would be the Ferrell gang over at Funny Or Die. But is there something to b...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent What could be more perfect than SCHOOL OF ROCK’s Jack Black, a frontman himself, giving you insider info on THIS IS SPINAL TAP for #AFIMOVIECLUB?  The Jackster has been known to break into song even at film-related events, such as with Shirley MacLaine once when they did a press junket for Richard Linklater’s film, BERNIE.  Yes, there’s a diverting example included here.       Meanwhi...

Jumanji, The Next Level: Low level fare Jumanji was first released in 1995, at a time when video games were the new fad. Since then, the franchise has had three forays into filmdom. The latest one is titled The Next Level, but, ironically, it is a slide down to a new low. Amateurish and even puerile, this movie is probably aimed at pre-teens, but since pre-teenagers cannot be expected to perform such adult acts as are depicted, and the story has already established several grown-ups, and only...

The House with a Clock in Its Walls, Review: Gothic and scary, with a funny-bone Everybody loves a good mystery. Well, almost everybody. If there is magic in it and prodigious children, they love it even more. The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a magical story about warlocks and witches, children and childish innocence. It has, at its centre, a house that enjoys a position of its own. Hidden inside its walls somewhere is a clock that keeps ticking, and it is no ordinary clock. In fact, it...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Don’t you love hearing about a Hollywood party after it happens? Oh wait, an afterparty, after it happens? C’mon, saves you time and a hangover. Meanwhile last night was the LA premiere of DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT from Amazon Studios, a curious biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix that opens July 13. Jack Black and glasses, Joaquin Phoenix and cigarette during, not after, the afterparty This adapted screen story...

Jumanji-Welcome to the Jungle, Review: You only live thrice If you happen to get your hands on a board-game called Jumanji, you and all within range will be transported to a virtual jungle, where virtually all imaginable forms of carnivorous animals will vie with each other to gobble you up. But even if they do, do not worry, you will still live, to die another day, by falling off a cliff, perhaps. Now that you have used up two of your allotted three lives (nine are for cats only), you better...

Goosebumps, Review: BlackJack Stine and the ‘loose’ characters It’s enough to give you goosebumps: over 400 million Goosebumps books have been sold worldwide, in 32 languages, with author R.L. Stine recognised as one of the highest rated, bestselling, children’s authors in history. Goosebumps had its TV adaptation running from 1995 to 1998. Now, here comes the movie, with so much material that the makers were spoilt for choice. A clever technique is used to get past th...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent (*Richard Linklater also just received the Sonnny Bono Visionary Award at the 26th Annual Palm Springs Film Festival.) Two things will happen as Writer/Director Richard Linklater* (Slacker) hits the stage with Elvis Mitchell for Film Independent’s “An Evening With … Richard Linklater” in the Bing Theater at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) presented by Film Independent, the BAFTA Awards are poised to tip the dir...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   Already the Los Angeles Film Festival, now 17 years old, is acting like a teenager. First, last night they opened BERNIE, the much-anticipated Jack Black-Shirley MacLaine starrer by Richard Linklater so fast that anybody who made it from the parking structure in time felt lucky. PS, There's a dead guy in it. Then, they are calling it a "Festival Village," like some Olympians may wander in confused, drawn in by universally fam...

   Kung Fu Panda Sydney Red Carpet Premiere: Eva Rinaldi Photography Hollywood hit Sydney - AussieWood tonight, thanks to Jack Black and Lucy Liu, who star in Kung Fu Panda 2. Black was super animated and friendly, while Liu was quicker paced with the news media and fans. As you may have figured, it's their voices, not their faces or bodies that you will see in the flick, but both are likely to share more of themselves via a directors cut DVD of the film in the coming mon...

Richard Linklater, the American indie cult director behind such hits as SLACKER, DAZED AND CONFUSED, BEFORE SUNRISE and last year's ME AND ORSON WELLES, has announced that his next project will be the dark comedy BERNIE. Jack Black, who starred in Linklater's audience pleaser SCHOOL OF ROCK, is onboard again for the film, which also co-stars cinema icon Shirley MacLaine. BERNIE is set in the small town of Carthage, Texas and follows a Renaissance man-community leader-morticia...

  by Marla Lewin We will be attending another Shorts Film Fest this time here in Los Angeles. They proclaim themselves to be the largest short film festival in the world with 285 film screenings and 9 days of educational panels, interactive and entertaining events. Their host venue is the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theaters located at 8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood CA 90046. They tell me that the festival has quickly become the industry standard for showcasing and awarding undiscov...

As the Kung Fu Panda’s entourage struck the city for its Sydney Film Festival Australian premiere last Monday night, I waited in watchful expectation among the media pack on the red carpet, reciting all the Confucius wisdom I could remember, to mentally prepare myself  to ask ‘The Hard Questions’.  The Paramount Pictures PR whispered to me quietly as if a secret aside “this is the Dreamworks CEO, do you have a question?”  And there heading towards me, first in the Kung Fu Panda PR a...