Coming to Theaters: House of Gucci
House of Gucci
Only in theaters November 24
As someone who loves high fashion, I can’t wait for House of Gucci to hit theaters around Thanksgiving.
METRO GOLDWYN MAYER PICTURES Presents In Association With BRON CREATIVE A SCOTT FREE Production A Film by RIDLEY SCOTT
House of Gucci is inspired by the shocking true story of the family empire behind the Italian fashion house of Gucci. Spanning three decades of love, betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately murder, we see what a name means, what it’s worth, and how far a family will go for control.
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenplay: Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna
Story: Becky Johnston Based on the Book: “The House of Gucci” by Sara Gay Forden
Producers: Ridley Scott, p.g.a., Giannina Scott, p.g.a., Kevin J. Walsh, p.g.a., Mark Huffam, p.g.a. Executive Producers: Kevin Ulrich, Megan Ellison, Aidan Elliott, Marco Valerio Pugini, Aaron L. Gilbert, Jason Cloth Cast: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, with Salma Hayek and Al Pacino
Rated R for language, some sexual content, and brief nudity and violence
2021 Fall Bucket List
Fall is by far my favorite season: I prefer cozy knit over cut-off shorts, and mulled cider over tea any day. Fall is the most magical time of the year, and with the first day of falls arrival last Wednesday, you know I had to share my fall bucket list.
To celebrate the season, I have put together my annual fall bucket list that will help you make the most of what the season has to offer. Grab your scarves, throw some apple cider on the stove with mulling spice and get ready to head off and leaf peep as you check items off the 2021 Fall Bucket List.
1. Take a scenic drive
One of my favorite things to do in the fall is go out for a scenic drive. I love looking at the changing colors throughout the state.
2. Visit a cider mill
As soon as temperatures drop you can find me at a cider mill. Sipping on a hot cider and enjoying a cider mill donut.
3. Pick apples
Ever since I was a toddler my mom and I would head out to an apple orchard and pick all the apples we desired. Picking apples has hands down become one of my favorite things to do in the fall.
4. Enjoy a fall themed drink
My personal favorite fall drinks are chai tea lattes (with oat milk), and hot mulled apple cider from a local cider mill.
5. Give your home a cozy makeover
Just like your wardrobe, your home needs to change with the seasons. Trade your summer linens for warm sheets, cozy throws and extra quilts. Incoporate more candles, add autumn soap scents to the bathroom and kitchen. Don’t forget to add a little bit of flair to your front porch to spread season cheer. I’ll be adding a fall themed doormat, stacking cinderella pumpkins, updating the wreath on my front door and adding seasons favorite colors like burnt oranges and mustard yellows.
6. Hit the water
I absolutely love kayaking or paddleboarding and checking out fall color and it’s something that is back on my fall bucket list this year.
7. Have a fall-inspired movie marathon
Call the Sanderson Sisters—it’s spooky season! Get in the spirit by playing your favorite spooky movies back to back. I’ll be playing Double, Double Toil and Trouble with the Olsen Twins and Hocus Pocus. Don’t forget to grab a bowl of popcorn, light your favorite fall candle (as long as it’s not the black flame candle!), and enjoy the bests of spooky season.
NEW Super Mario Bros. Animated Film Cast Announcement
Have you heard the news? Next holiday season will be one you won’t want to miss because Illumination and Nintendo’s new Super Mario Bros. animated film will be heading to theaters!
Super Mario Bros. Cast Announcement
The cast for the the new Super Mario Bros. animated film is out of control! Pretty stoked for Jack Black as Bowser!
Chris Pratt as Mario
Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach
Charlie Day as Luigi
Jack Black as Bowser
Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong
Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek
Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike
and surprise cameos from Charles Martinet.
Illumination (HQ: Santa Monica, CA, USA; Founder and CEO: Chris Meledandri) and Nintendo Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto, Minami-ku, Japan; Representative Director and President: Shuntaro Furukawa, “Nintendo” hereafter) today announced that their new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. will be released worldwide during the 2022 holiday season. Universal Pictures will release the film in North America on December 21, 2022, with the release schedule for additional countries and regions to be announced at a future date. The film will be co-financed by Universal Pictures and Nintendo.
In addition, the two companies announced the voice actors for the characters Mario (Chris Pratt), Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), Luigi (Charlie Day), Bowser (Jack Black), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen), Cranky Kong (Fred Armisen), Kamek (Kevin Michael Richardson) and Spike (Sebastian Maniscalco). Each voice actor was cast for their ability to capture the unique spirit of their character.
This new animated film will be produced by Chris Meledandri of Illumination and Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who previously collaborated on the animated series Teen Titans Go! and the film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. The screenplay of the film will be written by Matthew Fogel, whose writing credits include The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and the upcoming Illumination film Minions: The Rise of Gru.
“Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date,” said Chris Meledandri, Illumination’s Founder and CEO, and outside director of Nintendo.
“We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game. The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask that fans wait just a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they look forward to seeing the unique characters from Super Mario Bros. on the big screen,” said Shigeru Miyamoto, Representative Director, Fellow of Nintendo.
About the Super Mario Bros. animated film
This Super Mario Bros. animated film, which will be produced by Chris Meledandri of Illumination and Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo, is scheduled to be released during the 2022 holiday season. It will premiere on December 21, 2022, in North America. The release schedule for additional countries and regions will be announced at a future date. The film will be co-financed by Universal Pictures and Nintendo, released worldwide by Universal Pictures.
About Illumination
Illumination, founded by Academy Award® nominee Chris Meledandri in 2007, is one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of event-animated films. The company’s franchises include two of the top-four animated films of all time, and its iconic, beloved brands infused with memorable and distinct characters, global appeal and cultural relevance have grossed more than $6.25 billion worldwide. Illumination was honored by Fast Company as one of the world’s most innovative companies.
About Nintendo
Nintendo Co., Ltd., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, has created franchises that have become household names worldwide, including Mario™, Donkey Kong™, The Legend of Zelda™, Metroid™, Pokémon™, Animal Crossing™, Pikmin™ and Splatoon™, through its integrated hardware and software products. Nintendo aims to deliver unique, intuitive entertainment experiences for everyone, manufacturing and marketing video game devices such as the Nintendo Switch™ family of systems, developing and operating applications for smart devices, and collaborating with partners on a range of other entertainment initiatives like visual content and theme parks. Nintendo has sold more than 5.1 billion video games and over 800 million hardware units globally. From the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System™ more than 30 years ago, through today and into the future, Nintendo’s continuing mission is to create unique entertainment that puts smiles on the faces of people all over the world.
Hallmark’s 2021 Countdown to Christmas Schedule
It’s the first day of fall and visions of pumpkin spice are dancing in my head. Hallmark Channel decided they wanted to get visions of sugar plum in our heads instead and just released the schedule for 2021 Countdown to Christmas and I am HYPED! Well, they have released part of it anyway. Holiday magic begins on October 22, 2021.
With this turning of the season Hallmark Channel is letting us in on the schedule for Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas programming from October 22 through November 7. I will, of course, update this as more films and dates are added to the schedule.
Here are the movies that have been announced so far. Stay tuned as Hallmark continues to announce more holly jolly flicks.
Hallmark Channel “Countdown to Christmas” Lineup 2021
You, Me & The Christmas Trees
Stars: Danica McKellar, Benjamin Ayres, Jason Hervey
Airs: Friday, October 22 at 8 p.m. ET
Excited for this one! I really like Danica McKellar and Benjamin Ayres.
Boyfriends of Christmas Past
Stars: Catherine Haena Kim, Raymond Ablack, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
Airs: Saturday, October 23 at 8 p.m. ET
The Santa Stakeout
Stars: Tamera Mowry-Housley, Paul Campbell, Joe Pantoliano
Airs: Sunday, October 24 at 8 p.m. ET
Great cast lineup! Should be good.
Christmas in Harmony
Stars: Ashleigh Murray, Luke James, Loretta Devine, Michelle Williams, Basil Wallace
Airs: Friday, October 29 at 8 p.m. ET
Coyote Creek Christmas
Stars: Janel Parrish, Ryan Paevey
Airs: Saturday, October 30 at 8 p.m. ET
Christmas Sail
Stars: Katee Sackhoff, Patrick Sabongui, Terry O’Quinn
Airs: Sunday, October 31 at 8 p.m. ET
Open by Christmas
Stars: Alison Sweeney, Erica Durance, Brennan Elliott
Airs: Friday, November 5 at 8 p.m. ET
Next Stop, Christmas
Stars: Lyndsy Fonseca, Chandler Massey, Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd
Airs: Saturday, November 6 at 8 p.m. ET
A Christmas Treasure
Stars: Jordin Sparks, Michael Xavier
Airs: Sunday, November 7 at 8 p.m. ET
Christmas at Castle Hart
Stars: Lacey Chabert, Stuart Townsend
Airs: TBA
LOVE any Hallmark Channel movie with Lacey!
The Christmas Contest
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, John Brotherton, Barbara Niven
Airs: TBA
LOVE any Hallmark Channel movie with Candace Cameron Bure!
The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls
Stars: Robert Buckley, Ana Ayora, Jonathan Bennett, Sharon Lawrence, Treat Williams, Brad Harder
Airs: TBA
Robert Buckley and Jonathan Bennett are top Hallmark Channel movie men!
The Nine Kittens of Christmas
Stars: Brandon Routh, Kimberley Sustad, Gregory Harrison
Airs: TBA
YES! Really excited for this one!
Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday & Sister Swap: Christmas in the City
Stars: Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Ashley Williams, Mark Deklin, Keith Robinson, Susan Yeagley, Kevin Nealon
Airs: TBA
Most excited about the Williams sisters in this one!
Movie Review: Dear Evan Hansen
Friday is going to be a good day and here’s why:
Dear Evan Hansen comes to a theater near you!
The generation-defining Broadway phenomenon Dear Evan Hansen comes to a theater near you this Friday, September 24, 2021 The best part, Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Ben Platt reprises his role as an anxious, isolated high schooler aching for understanding and belonging amid the chaos and cruelty of the social-media age.
In 2020 I had tickets to see Dear Evan Hansen at the Fisher Theater in downtown Detroit. Unfortunately 2020 had other plans and as we all know too well venues were shut down. I was excited when I heard the news that Dear Evan Hansen was being made into a movie and I was even more excited when I learned that the role of Evan Hansen would be played by Ben Platt who originally starred in the role on Broadway.
Musicals are hard to translate to movies, especially once the musical has a large fan base and has won awards. The movie will either be well received or torn apart because it did not follow the story properly. Like I mentioned above, I was supposed to see Dear Evan Hansen last year, but was unable to. After seeing the movie version it makes me want to see the musical even more and just compare.
Dear Evan Hansen Movie Review
Dear Evan Hansen follows, Evan Hansen as he navigates through social awkwardness, life and events he kind of just put himself in after the death of a classmate. Conner has a brash personality, and is the classmate of Evan’s that ends up taking his own life. The only thing Conner is found with is a letter that starts with “Dear Evan Hansen” in his pocket. The letter is actually one Evan Hansen wrote to himself as part of his therapy. Not wanting to hurt Conner’s family more than they already were, the letter leads Evan Hansen to create a web of lies. Will these lies do more harm than good?
The messages in Dear Evan Hansen are good, relatable really. The story is dark and depressing and covers topics of mental health and self-harm. Which is kind of the theme in society right now. During the past 18-or-so months mental health awareness has been brought to life, and what we are learning is everyone seems to struggle somewhere. You’re not alone. Just as Evan Hansen did some people will even go to incredible lengths to make others feel better about the loss of someone who had mental issues. The movie is a reminder that you’re not alone. And keep in mind, this was a hit Broadway musical first and was not just created during shut down.
Let’s take a step away from mental health for a moment and talk about what is all the buzz on the interwebs right now… the film happens in high school. However, they never specify what grade any of the students are in, and honestly it doesn’t even matter for the story. What people have an issue with is the actors who are playing high school students. With the lead Evan Hansen, being played by Ben Platt (27-years-old), clearly isn’t high school age. And that age does show, that being said I wouldn’t want to see someone else in the role. Ben Platt won awards for the role of Evan Hansen, why would you want someone else in that role? I mean seriously? I have zero complaints with Ben Platt playing the role of a higher school.
Wrap up review of Dear Evan Hansen
I really enjoyed the movie. Ben Platt crushed the role, the songs were amazing and I can’t wait for it to circle back to Detroit and see it on stage.
Dear Evan Hansen Synopsis
The breathtaking, generation-defining Broadway phenomenon becomes a soaring cinematic event as Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Ben Platt reprises his role as an anxious, isolated high schooler aching for understanding and belonging amid the chaos and cruelty of the social-media age.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being A Wallflower, Wonder), the film is written for the screen by the show’s Tony winner Steven Levenson with music and lyrics by the show’s Oscar®, Grammy and Tony-winning songwriting team of Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman).
Featuring Grammy winning songs, including the iconic anthem “You Will Be Found,” “Waving Through a Window,” “For Forever” and “Words Fail,” Dear Evan Hansen stars six-time Oscar® nominee Amy Adams, Oscar® winner Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart), Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Colton Ryan (Apple TV+’s Little Voice), Nik Dodani (Netflix’s Atypical), DeMarius Copes (Broadway’s Mean Girls) and Danny Pino (NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit).
Dear Evan Hansen is produced by Marc Platt (La La Land, Into the Woods, Mary Poppins Returns) and Adam Siegel (2 Guns, Drive), and is executive produced by Michael Bederman, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Universal Pictures will distribute the film in all territories.
Genre: Musical Drama
Cast: Ben Platt, Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, Danny Pino, Colton Ryan, DeMarius Copes
Directed by: Stephen Chbosky
Screenplay by: Steven Levenson
Music & Lyrics by: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
Based on: The stage musical by Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
Producers: Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
Executive Producer: Michael Bederman, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Fashion meets Food 