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SDIFF 2022 Opening Night presents ‘Armageddon Time’: Be a Mensch if you can

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2 years ago

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Reviewed by Alicia Glass

 Set in the early 80’s, with roots stemming from director James Gray’s personal history, comes a story of the ties that bind, and gag, family and the generational pursuit of the American dream.

Meet Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), artist and dreamer, lover of space and despiser of the rigidities of middle school. His extended family is somewhat lapsed Jewish, personified in the blunt if gentle relationship with Grandpa Aaron Rabinowitz (Sir Anthony Hopkins), and his stories of immigration to escape the Nazi hunting parties. Matter of fact, Grandpa is the only one that Paul seems to get along with for any extended length of time – Mom Esther Graff (Anne Hathaway) might be the head of the PTA, but that gives her no power whatsoever, either inside or outside the home; patriarch Irving (Jeremy Strong) reluctantly administers beatings when Paul inevitably screws up and is therefore a figure of terror most of the time; brother Ted (Ryan Sell) attends an affluent private school and is yet another bully in Paul’s life; Grandma Mickey (Tovah Feldshuh) is the proud kind of tarnished Jewish nobility, who thinks Paul should attend brother Ted’s private school as a matter of course; and Aunt Ruth (Marcia Haufrecht) and Uncle Louis (Teddy Coluca) are living overbearing Jewish stereotypes that constantly grace the dinner table with their often literal color commentary.

A new school year has begun and with it comes a new teacher, Mr. Turkeltaub (Andrew Polk), more often than not called Turkey-somethingorother, stoic and unbending for the troublemakers in his class, of which somehow Paul has managed to make the list, along with his new black friend, Johnny Davis (Jaylin Webb).

The general feeling is that having black kids in the school is a relatively new experience, and that all non-white children are thieves, low-lifes, degenerates, even this early in middle school. Poor Johnny tries his best to keep a cheerful (or at least passive) outlook on the whole deal, and is a normal kid enjoying normal kid things just like Paul – science and outer-space exploration, the popular music scene (in this case the Sugar Hill Gang and their new style of “rapping” music), and general freedom from the persecution of adults.

Two main themes seem to run through the film – the early labeling of poor Paul as a “slow” student, despite his clear artistic sensibilities, much to the rage and shame of his extended family, and the racist dismissal of his friend Johnny by, well, everyone around him, except for Paul himself. “Troublemaker” Johnny already had clear strikes against him before even attending school, with his lack of caring family save for his indigent grandmother and his head in the clouds of distracting music with Sugar Hill Gang concerts, it’s no wonder he sorely wants to escape the gross reality of his current life, where the very color of his skin earns him immediate dismissal most of the time. It was only Paul, the supposedly slow dreamer with his head past the clouds and out into space and art, who truly saw Johnny as just another human who’d be worth making friends with. And after the death of his beloved Grandfather, the only other person that Paul got along with, the elder of the family who seemed happy to accept Paul just as he was and encouraged him to be a Mensch – to be right and do right – Paul really needs his only friend left. Though what happens to that friendship in the third act and that rather abrupt not-ending, frankly made me sad.

Full of often-misplaced heart and the shenanigans of rebellious boys in a world of never-ending shifting priorities and constant upheaval, Armageddon Time is a lovely, if entirely melancholy, journey through the early memories of Director James Gray.

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New Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime TV Series Details Revealed at Comic-Con International Panel

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2 hours ago

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July 27, 2024

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Volume Global, in association with Navajo Entertainment, Claxson Media, Fun Republic Pictures, Karma Film, Julijette, Palatin Media, and Washington Square Entertainment, presented the highly anticipated adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime to an enthusiastic crowd at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

The panel, titled ‘Jonathan Frakes unveils ‘Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime’ TV series,’ took place on Thursday, July 25th, at the San Diego Convention Center as part of Comic-Con International’s 2024 lineup.

Moderated by Comic-Con mainstay and legend Gary Miereanu, the panel featured special virtual appearances from director and Executive Producer Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Librarians), and Executive Producer Lucas Vivo Garcia Lagos (Franklin: Historia de un Billete, Pacto de Sangre, Psiconautas), while the Emmy-nominated Co-Showrunners David Cormican (Tokyo Trial, Northern Rescue, ShadowHunters) and Dwayne Hill (Northern Rescue, Peg + Cat, Mean Girls), shared the stage with Miereanu along with fellow Executive Producer and Volume Global’s Michael Hamilton Wright (Hostile Takeover, King of Killers).

Fans of the bestselling book franchise were treated to an in-depth discussion about the upcoming TV series adaptation based on the books by sci-fi legend and Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter Sir Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey) and author Paul Preuss who was also in attendance at the panel. The filmmakers explained their decision to use virtual production to bring this ambitious scripted series to life. Attendees who secured a seat received a Comic-Con exclusive, limited edition, numbered series poster featuring artwork by celebrated comic book cover artist Raúl Allén.

The filmmakers also previewed an exclusive sneak peek teaser, including a 30-second logo reveal clip. Emmy-award nominated Isabella ‘Machine’ Summers (Little Fires Everywhere; also of Florence and the Machine fame), was announced as the composer for the clip’s score, with an unreleased track entitled “Poetry.” The sneak peek will be made available by the producers to those not in attendance on the official YouTube page for the

Additionally, the team revealed the title of the series pilot episode: “Set Motus Est” (Latin meaning: Set in motion), and announced that the official filming location would be carried out in virtual production on the world’s second-largest LED virtual production wall and largest in Canada, located in Regina, Saskatchewan, in partnership with Volume Global and Creative Saskatchewan.

“I’m no Kubrick, but I will do my best, I promise you”, shared Frakes in his message to fans. “We hope to be showing it to you next year at San Diego Comic-Con”.

A special announcement was also made by Frakes regarding a worldwide open casting call to discover the lead role of Sparta, with details for interested actresses available on Volume Global’s dedicated casting website (www.vgcasting.com). The filmmakers echoed Frakes’ invitation for fans to join them at next year’s Comic-Con for the world premiere of the series.

“Sci-fi has been a very big part of my world since I can remember,” added Executive Producer Lucas Vivo García Lagos. “At age 16, I read Venus Prime for the first time and couldn’t help but fall in love with the character of Sparta, her fragility, and the quest for her identity — a skillful combination between mystery, action, and love”.

The Venus Prime novels, originally published between 1987 and 1991, were re-issued with new cover artwork by Vanessa Maynard in 2021 by J. Boylston & Company Publishers. The series began with the release of Breaking Strain, the first novel in the Venus Prime franchise, nearly 35 years ago. Alan Morell of Creative Management Partners serves as Senior Advisor to Claxson, Washington Square Entertainment and J. Boylston & Company Publishers and negotiated the rights deal for the producers and publisher.

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Comic-Con 2024: Max Collins’s TRUE NOIR

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4 hours ago

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July 27, 2024

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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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23 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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