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The Bikeriders – BFI London Film Festival 2023 (Film Review)


This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labour of the actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The outlaw motorcycle subculture became prevalent throughout the 1960’s counterculture movement. Numerous gangs such as the Hell’s Angels started emerging through the latter half of 20th century American history. Inspired by the 1967 photo-book of the same name and set between 1965-1973, The Bikeriders is the story of a fictional gang named the “Vandals”, and is told through three characters: Kathy (Jodie Comer), her motorcyclist husband: Benny (Austin Butler) and leader: Johnny (Tom Hardy). During this period, these connections are gradually tested as the gang becomes more brutal and violent. Kathy strives for a normal protected life, whilst Benny continuously steers his loyalty towards Johnny.

Within this small circle, it’s Jodie Comer who dominates. Speaking in a distrinctive 1960’s dialect, her character is completely engrossing as she remained concerned with her husbands strengthening loyalty to the Vandals. It’s a tour de force performance. Austin Butler proves once again that he’s an ascending star no matter the role. His effortlessly confident and subtly luminating aura previously seen in Elvis, further endures in his interpretation of Benny. The consistently outstanding Tom Hardy depicts gang leader Johnny with an unforgettable intensity and underlying dread. it’s a role that fits with Hardy’s tradition of portraying deviously unhinged figures you wouldn’t want to mess with. Even Jeff Nichols’ favourite Michael Shannon brings a strong presence in this story of allegiance and vulnerability.
20th Century FoxFor Nichols, it’s a continuation of his examinations of the USA’s deep south, following Shotgun Stories, Mud and Loving with this story of a a fascinating yet turbulent faction of American counterculture. Amongst the motorcycle rumbles, countless leather jackets and gang culture, the film’s narrative framework gives the audience an outside viewpoint.

Nichols chooses to undergo almost a literal retelling of the Vandals’ endeavours by emulating the same style evident in the inspired photo-book by Danny Lyon. Over the course of these events, Kathy is interviewed by Lyon (Mike Faist), the original author, about her experiences and her relation to the group. Blending Kathy’s interviews alongside the action, Nichols gives The Bikeriders an honest impression of how exceptional experiences can become either distorted or detailed based on separate recollections.
Despite The Bikeriders succeeding in almost every aspect, at times the narrative hovers at the edge of familiarity. Whilst the execution is admirable, the film fails to add anything groundbreaking, and sometimes adheres to a paint-by-numbers type structure. Perhaps a touch more polish on the story could have accelerated the film’s status to a modern masterpiece. Yet The Bikeriders is a powerful illustration of a particular subculture and its inner workings through an engrossing circle of perspectives. Filled with powerful performances, it’s a thoroughly compelling effort that will no doubt be an awards contender.

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‘I am officially off the market’: When Margot Robbie revealed she made the ‘conscious’ decision of not dating actors


Margot Robbie revealed her decision to not date actors because of the media scrutiny that came with a public relationship of two high-profile actors
Back in 2015, A-lister Margot Robbie made a declaration that she would not be dating any actors. The actress may have alluded to her fiance Tom Ackerley, who she married the following year in 2016. In an exclusive interview with Marie Claire, she revealed that being in a relationship as an actor herself came with its own set of challenges. She believed that dating someone who was popular would add on to the media scrutiny.

Margot Robbie opened up on why she made a conscious decision to not date actorsTalking to Marie Claire, she claimed, “I am officially off the market.” She then shared the reasoning behind her decision and added, “I made a conscious decision not to date actors.” She continued to explain, “But not because I hate actors. That’s a nasty generalization to make, and that’s not the case. People take such an interest in your love life when you have a profile, it puts a lot of stress on a relationship.”
The Barbie actress continued, “So two people with profiles, I figure it’s just double the amount of scrutiny, and I’d like to avoid that at all costs.” This came after reports of her locking lips with Tarzan co-star Alexander Skarsgard started making rounds. It was reported that she was caught kissing the actor during the Sundance Film Festival.

Margot Robbie revealed she opted for a minimal lifestyle even after becoming an actorIn the interview, Robbie also opened up about how she was adapting to fame. She shared, “I have a normal 24-year-old life. If I were a waitress, I’d probably have the exact same lifestyle. I’d go to the same clubs I go to already, live in the same house with the same housemates, hang out with the same people.”
However, Margot Robbie tied the knot with Tom Ackerley who is an English producer and actor. The duo met on the sets of 2013 movie Suite Francaise where Tom was working as an assistant director. Post marriage, both of them launched their production company LuckyChap Entertainment.

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Monica Bellucci and Tin Burton at lunch in the restaurant in Selci Lama


For All Saints’ Day, the Hollywood star from Tiferno returned to his native Umbria to enjoy a moment of relaxation and then visit his parentsOn the occasion of the All Saints’ Day celebrations, the Hollywood star of Tiferno origin, Monica Bellucci, returned to her native Umbria to enjoy a moment of relaxation and to visit her father Pasquale and her mother Brunella.Flanked by her current partner Tim Burton, she went to lunch, together with about twenty old friends, at the Osteria del Musicista, which has always been her favorite restaurant, in Selci Lama.Menu dedicated to typical dishes of the area, which includes an appetizer with breadsticks lined with coppa, duck in porchetta and grilled pork livers, polenta with wild boar sauce accompanied by the very typical cappelletti in broth.To conclude, a dessert based on fried “ciaccia” with Nutella and roasted chestnuts.
Having paid the bill and greeted the restaurant owner and lifelong friend, Roberto Polchi, Monica brought home cappelletti and broth for a family dinner.

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‘Rocky’ Was Quite Different In His Original Screenplay, Sylvester Stallone Claims


Sylvester Stallone took his friend’s advice on a rewrite of the original screenplay to Rocky. A few tweaks later, he was on his way to major success.
In the new Netflix documentary Sly, Stallone discussed how he initially conceived of the project, which had a much harder edge. In the early version, Rocky was depicted as a “thuggish” character, inspired by Martin Scorsese’s crime drama, Mean Streets.

But Stallone’s perspective changed when a friend read the script and thought the boxer was too cruel for audiences to actually care about him.
Stallone recalled her crying.

“She goes, ‘I hate Rocky. I hate him. He’s cruel. He hits people. He beats them up.’”
Stallone took it to heart, and asked what he could do to soften the character.

“I said, ‘what if you stop short of it?’ Like, maybe he almost did. He could have, that’s his job, but he doesn’t?’ ‘That’d be nice,’” he added. “I said, ‘What if he had a girlfriend or something?’ ‘Yeah, that’s nice.’ So I go back, start writing that: ‘Girlfriend. Nice.’”
$117 million in box office later, a franchise was born.

Stallone also revealed that actor Dolph Lundgren sent him to the hospital during one fight scene in Rocky IV.
“Dolph Lundgren… he pulverized me,” Stallone says in the documentary. “Later that night, my heart started to swell—which happens when the heart hits the chest—and then my blood pressure went up to 260, and they thought I was going to be talking to angels. Next thing I know, I’m in intensive care, where I’m surrounded by nuns, and I thought, ‘OK, that’s curtains.’”
Stallone was in the hospital for nine days following the incident, praying for “one more round.”
“For the first minute of the fight, it is going to be a free-for-all,” Stallone told Lundgren. The Swedish actor joked in a separate interview that all he did was “obey orders,” explaining, “[Stallone] was the boss. I did what he told me.”
Doctors allegedly told Stallone that he received a blow to the ribs that made his heart rattle around in his ribcage, a condition typically seen in head-on collisions. “I did hit a bus, of sorts,” Stallone joked.

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