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Grief Consumes All in “State Like Sleep”

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6 years ago

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Grief consumes all in Meredith Danluck’s State Like Sleep. The director laces the paralyzing feeling into her newest feature to create a drippy, noir, murder mystery that drags the viewer to its conclusion with stops and starts. While State Like Sleep may personify its target emotion to a tee, it doesn’t make for a compelling watch.

The film follows Katherine (Katherine Waterson), a woman still coming to terms with her husband’s death the year prior. She has escaped to New York, hoping that a change in scenery will expedite the process, but when her mother gets sick she is pulled back to the scene of the incident, Brussels. Forced to confront her grief, Katherine begins to unravel new mysteries as she digs into her husband’s final days.

Waterson is excellent casting in the lead role, showing an in-depth understanding of the complexities of grief. While Katherine’s year-long escape to the States sounds like negligence, Waterson’s body language and void-like facial expression show how grieved to the point of inoperability her character is. She is a woman floating through the sea of life who only shows a desire to push back when she is on the brink of drowning. It’s a fight or flight reaction that is endearing to watch unfold.

We get similarly conflicting reactions with each new character introduction. Whether she is meeting a weathered neighbor (Michael Shannon) or a former friend of her husband (Luke Evans), she approaches each new scenario with a desire to learn more but appears to always be on the brink of falling into a depressive hole. Add in the work of cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt who creates a world teeming with seductive dread – danger feels just around the corner in every scene, but the enchanting nature in which it is shot calls for further exploration – and you get a portrayal that keeps the viewers on their toes, rooting for Katherine’s growth.

A majority of these highlights can get overlooked, however, thanks to a plot that doesn’t have a destination in mind. The relationship between Katherine and the aforementioned neighbor, Edward, plays out with an uneasy chemistry that shifts between romantic and tense. As the two discuss marriage and what it does to those involved one would think this plays a larger role in the narrative, but it ultimately equates to a distraction.

The same can be said for Katherine’s relationship to her mother-in-law. The two converse early on in a way that sets the film up as a classic whodunnit, casting doubt and intrigue onto our protagonist. This too is dragged out to the extent that any payoff feels insignificant. The actors do an excellent job of creating tension, but it always results in a whimper rather than a bang. They are simply distractions for Katherine to busy herself with until the plot calls for a new scene.

State Like Sleep succumbs to the grief it is so desperate to explore. It finds subplots worth diving into, but either gets distracted by another subplot or loses interest before too long and gives up on the exploration. The film has enticing ideas, but lacks the gusto to get there. It’s a hazy feature that were it not for the light of its cast and visuals would be lost and forgotten.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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10 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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12 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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13 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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