Careful What You Wish For (2015)

Released on DVD, June 10, 2016, in the US.

Filmed entirely in North Carolina.

The story: Teenage Doug will be spending the next three months in a small town by the water with his parents.

He will also be working at the local pub along with his friend Carson.

Carson tells Doug that he can really find a girlfriend without any problem if he just makes an effort.

Before too long, Doug realizes he has new neighbors, a married, rich couple.

Doug meets his new neighbor Elliot when he arrives home and finds him at his house talking with his parents.

His parents explain how good Doug is with boats and seeing how Elliot has just bought one, he would like Doug to take a look at it.

Doug has also, by the way, noticed Elliot's wife but hasn't actually met her just yet.

The next day, while checking out the boat, Doug notices Elliot's wife Lena once again.

They two don't really meet until Elliot leaves town for work and Lena needs help with a spider in her car...

Later that same night, when Doug gets back from his first night at work, he is greeted by Lena.

She explains that she locked herself out of the house and insists that he help her get back inside, which he does.

Lena quickly seduces naive Doug, explaining that no one can find out about them.

Doug agrees and has no problem secretly seeing Lena when Elliot isn't around.

The more the two see each other, the more Lena tells Doug that Elliot is abusive and that she can't get away so easily. 

One day when the three are together on Elliots' boat, Lena tells Doug she is going to ask for a divorce.

But later on, Doug gets news from Lena that she has accidentally killed Elliot and she needs his help getting out of it...

Stars Nick Jonas, Kiki Harris, David Sherrill, Graham Rogers, Paul Sorvino, Isabel Lucas, Dermot Mulroney, Kevin L Johnson, Jay Potter, Marc Macaulay, Leon Pridgen, Kandyse McClure

Directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum

Rated R
MYSTERY/THRILLER

Trainwreck : Woodstock '99 (2022)

Released on Netflix as a three-part mini-series, airing on instant streaming, August 2nd in the US.

Filming location(s) unknown.

The story: The Woodstock festival of 1969 was something no one in the world had ever seen.

It became a special time that brought hope to the young people of the world.

Woodstock 1994 was a small attempt to bring back that amazing kind of energy, but it flopped.

Flopped as in, the music was fantastic, yes but the festival made no money.

When festival founder Michael Lang wanted to give Woodstock one more shot at being successful in 1999, he brought in the help of a music promoter who believed it to be a possibility.

But from the beginning, things weren't handled correctly.

First and foremost, the producers of the festival were way out of the loop when it came to the generation they were putting a show on for in the first place. 

They had no idea about what could and would go legitimately wrong.

From taking the attendees' food and beverages as soon as they arrived, not having a strict budget for food, water, and medical emergencies, and an underskilled lack of security, things quickly got out of hand.

What was meant to be the biggest three-day party turned into a sexually aggressive, seriously dangerous, and completely unsanitary hell for the attendees as well as all the staff.

There was a Pay Per View that showed all the raunchy antics that were going on.

ABC News covered each day and MTV also covered the show.

But MTV quickly became a target of the crowd due to the crowd believing MTV represented corporate sell-out.

Consumerism became blatantly apparent and it was pissing people off one by one to the point of complete and absolute chaotic destruction.

Although the extreme heat, the absent-minded increasing anger of many attendees, mixed with alcohol and drug intake with an extreme lack of any kind of respect was definitely not helping matters.

But through all the warnings before and during the show, it went on til the bitter end, leaving a vast wasteland and problems that would cost millions to clean up and repair.

Stars David Blaustein , Ananda Lewis , Colin Spier , Michael Lang , John Scher , Pilar Law , Lee RosenBlatt , Jonathan Davis , Gavin Rossdale , Jewel Kilcher , Lisa Law , Tim Healy , AJ Srybnik

Directed by Jamie Crawford

Rated TVMA

DOCUMENTARY/HISTORY/MUSIC/TV/SERIES

"It's not your parents Woodstock."

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Released October 6th in the US.

Filmed in Sweden, Denmark, and Washington.

The story: It is 1964 in a small Washington town.

Selma is a sweet, naive Czechoslovakian immigrant, who works in a factory to make ends meet.

She also has a great love for musicals.

She cares for her preteen son Gene and the two live in a rental, owned by their neighbors' policeman Bill and his wife Linda.

Selma has a condition that is causing her eyesight to slowly give in, but she continues on doing what she must.

She has been saving every little bit of money to get Gene an operation so that he will not experience the same loss of sight as her.

Selma and policeman Bill have become good friends. 

While talking with each other one evening, Bill explains he will soon lose his house, due to an inheritance that he had running out.

Selma explains that she has been saving money to give Gene the eye operation.

In a desperate attempt to keep his house and not lose Linda, Bill schemes to take Selma's savings which, of course, doesn't end well.

Stars Bjork, Catherine Deneuve, Peter Stormare, David Morse, Cara Seymour, Joel Grey, Vladica Kostic, Jean-Marc Barr, Vincent Paterson, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Udo Kier, Reathel Bean

Directed by (& story partly written) Lars von Trier

Rated R
DRAMA/MUSICAL

The Princess (2022)

Made for HBO, airing August 13th in the US.

Filming location(s) unknown.

The story: Diana Frances Spencer met Prince Charles of Wales when she was just 16-year-old.

In 1981, when she was just 19-year-old, she was happily getting ready to be Princess of Wales, by marrying the 32-year-old Prince.

Britain was overjoyed and excited that the two would become a union.

They quickly came to adore and admire the Princess, just about overshadowing the Prince.

Soon the couple became parents to their first son. 

But the public eye was always on the couple and their every move, mostly Diana which apparently began to take its toll on the Prince.

Shortly thereafter, their second son arrived, and the public noticed that Prince Charles was often busy off, doing his own thing

Rumors of the royal marriage falling apart began to surface but the public did not want to believe that to be true.

When the couple finally separated, Diana began going off on her own.

The two of them still constantly in the spotlight felt their own obligations to speak about what was happening as well as what went wrong in their marriage before officially divorcing.

Diana continued to do her part as the Princess by visiting other countries, the people who adored her, and giving great care to her beloved charity work.

After most of the scandals surrounding the separated couple's actions, Charles began a very public affair with a woman he had been friends with for years.

But when Diana also seemed to have finally found happiness in her own life, tragedy struck her down.

Directed by (& story written) Ed Perkins

Not Rated

DOCUMENTARY/HISTORY/TV

"The People's Princess."

The Book Thief (2013)

Released November 27th in the US.
Filmed entirely in Germany.

The story: 1938.

Liesel Meminger and her younger brother are traveling, along with their mother, via train, when her brother suddenly dies.

They stop for his burial, at which Liesel takes a book that was dropped at his grave.

From this point on, Liesel is escorted without her mother to a new family which will be her new mother and father.

Liesel is quiet and scared but takes a quick liking to her kind, new father.

When Liesel's father realizes she cannot read but has a great need to, he helps her learn.

Soon Liesel is reading all kinds of books and learning so much from them.

She learns why her mother has left her and , at a Nazi book burning, secretly picks up a remaining book.

When Liesel is seen picking up the book by the mayor's wife, who her new mother works for , she invites Liesel into her library whenever she wants to read.

But when she is discovered in the house by the mayor, Liesel has to resort to "stealing" the books on her own.

Stars (voice) Roger Allam , Sophie Nelisse , Julian Lehmann , Heike Makatsch , Gotthard Lange , Rainer Reiners , Kristen Block , Geoffrey Rush , Emily Watson , Nico Liersch , Oliver Stokowski , Hildegard Schroedter , Levin Liam , Ludger Bokelmann , Ben Schnetzer , Robert Beyer , Paul Schaefer

Directed by Brian Percival

Rated PG13

DRAMA

Menendez : Blood Brothers (2017)

Made for Lifetime, airing June 11th in the US.

Filmed in Canada.

Based on truths.

The story: Eric Menendez is a gifted, spoiled rich kid.

He lives with his overbearing, judgemental, mentally and physically abusive father and mother, who doesn't seem to step in when she should.

Eric just wants to please his father, but there seems no pleasing him.

When his older brother Lyle comes home for a visit from college, Eric explains the abuse that hasn't stopped is continuing on a regular basis.

Lyle wants Eric to go to school where he goes so he can get away from their parents, but after approaching his parents about the idea he gets shot down.

The more Lyle and Eric try to stand up to their father the more difficult things get for them.

When it seems like they will never be free of him, they decide to murder their controlling parents.

Stars Myko Olivier, Courtney Love, Benito Martinez, Aliyah OBrien, Nico Tortorella, Joey Pacheco, Kai Bradbury, Alison Wandzura, Blair Penner, Laura Mitchell, Meredith Scott Lynn, Jennifer Juniper Angeli

Directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato

Rated TV14

DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY/TV

Dear Mr. Gacy (2010)

Release date unknown.

Filmed entirely in Canada.

Based on truths.

The story: Jason is a college student who wants a job in law.

While watching a show about serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who is set to be executed in six months' time, Jason gets an idea.

He wants to write his end-of-the-year term paper on Gacy.

Approaching his professor about the idea, he explains that papers about serial killers have all been done before. 

But if he can write something original, he will accept that for what it is.

Jasons angle? Writing to Gacy, with the intention of winning over his trust, so much so that he can possibly get the killer to admit his involvement and guilt in the murders he has been not taking responsibility for.

Stars Jesse Moss, Cole Heppell, Belinda Metz, Emma Lahana, William Forsythe, Michael Ryan, Eric Keenleyside, Daryl Shuttleworth, Patrick Gilmore, Andrew Airlie, Michael Kopsa, Jeffery Bowyer Chapman, Hunter Elliott, Michaela Mann, Libby Osler, Dee Jay Jackson, Brett Dier, James Ralph

Directed by Svetozar Ristovski

Rated R
DRAMA/MYSTERY/THRILLER/HISTORY

Stepfather 2 : Make Room for Daddy (1989)

Released November 3rd in the US.

Filmed in California and Canada.

The story: After trying to kill his wife, her daughter, and damn near getting himself done in, Jerry finds himself locked up in a prison for the insane.

He hasn't given up his dream of finding the perfect family to fit right into though...

When Jerry begins getting some well-needed counseling, that appears to be going in the intended direction, he finds his way out into the world once again.

Soon he is living a quaint life in a small gated community.

Jerry poses as a marriage counselor while trying to find his next wife.

Carol,  his realtor takes a quick liking to his nice guy charm, and of course, after getting to know each other a bit, Jerry finds that she clearly fits the bill quite nicely.

But Jerry hasn't anywhere near been cured of his murderous ways.

Stars Terry OQuinn, Henry Brown, Meg Foster, Jonathan Brandis, Caroline Williams, Mitchell Laurance, Miriam Byrd Nethery, Leon Martell, Renata Scott, John OLeary, Glen Adams, Eric Brown 

Directed by Jeff Burr

Rated R
SEQUEL/MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR