Today, our thoughts are with the family of filmmaker Jonathan Demme, who passed away at the age of 73 this week from unspecified complications with cancer. His publicist released a statement explaining the circumstances of his death, and various celebrity tributes have started rolling in.

Jonathan Demme pictured with Jodie Foster at a 'Silence of the Lambs' 25th anniversary event

The Academy Award winning director, best known for his work on the Anthony Hopkins horror 'The Silence of the Lambs', died today (April 26th 2017) after a battle with oesophageal cancer as well as heart disease - that much was confirmed by his publicist in a statement this week.

Continue reading: The Death Of Legendary Filmmaker Jonathan Demme Marks A Sad Day For Hollywood

Justin Timberlake at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of 'Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids' held at Roy Thompson Hall - Toronto, Canada - Tuesday 13th September 2016

Justin Timberlake, Jonathan Demme and Cameron Bailey

Meryl Streep Learns A New Skill For Ricki And The Flash

By Rich Cline in Movies / TV / Theatre on 07 August 2015

Meryl Streep Neil Young Jonathan Demme Mamie Gummer

The award-winning star got to have music lessons from a rock legend.

At age 66, Meryl Streep continues to add to her bag of acting tricks. For her role as an ageing rocker in Ricki and the Flash, she took a crash course in guitar playing from none other than rock legend Neil Young.

Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer in Ricki and the Flash Meryl Streep stars alongside her real life daughter Mamie Gummer in 'Ricki and the Flash'

And what was his best advice? "He said crank it up to 11," she laughs. "You've got to turn it up, turn it up loud!"

Continue reading: Meryl Streep Learns A New Skill For Ricki And The Flash

Ricki And The Flash - Drift Away Featurette Trailer

It's well-known that Meryl Streep has an extraordinary singing voice as well as being a remarkable actress, but now she's mastered an additional talent by learning rhythm guitar to play rock veteran Ricki Rendazzo in music drama Ricki And The Flash. One of the songs that she learned was movie original 'Drift Away'.

Continue: Ricki And The Flash - Drift Away Featurette Trailer

Ricki And The Flash - International Trailer

Ricki Rendazzo is a rock star who gave up everything to pursue her dream of stardom. But when her ex-husband Pete asks her to visit Chicago and help their estranged, divorced daughter Julie through a difficult time, she's given a chance to make amends with the family she abandoned for a life of fame and fortune. Taking her shot at redemption, Ricki faces the music and tries to make up for lost time. Meryl Streep stars opposite her real-life daughter Mamie Gummer for the third time. They previously starred in Heartburn (1986) and Evening (2007) together.

Continue: Ricki And The Flash - International Trailer

Ricki And The Flash - Teaser Trailer

Ricki Rendazzo is a veteran rockstar as part of her band Ricki And The Flash. She's adored by so many people in the world apart from the people who matter the most; her family. While on tour (as usual) she gets a call from her ex-husband Pete telling her that her daughter Julie has been dumped by her partner Max for another woman. Realising finally that her presence is needed, she drops everything and rushes to her daughter's aid - though, as it turns out, Julie is far from grateful. She and her brother have been forced to spend their most cherished memories without Ricki there, with their stepmother Maureen taking on the role as a proper mother to them. Ricki's son doesn't want her at his forthcoming wedding either, so it seems Ricki has a lot of making up to do if she wants to have a hope of re-connecting with her loved ones.

Continue: Ricki And The Flash - Teaser Trailer

Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel Review

By Rich Cline

Excellent

An essential documentary for movie fans, this exploration of the work of iconic filmmaker Roger Corman revels in the joy of exploitation movies made on a minuscule budget with lashings of gore, explosions and nudity. It's a glowing portrait of a man who changed filmmaking forever.

Corman's 400 films have tapped into youth culture in ways that studios never could. This documentary traces his career with interviews and clips, but also explores his impact on the industry at large. Clearly, he's not only an important filmmaker, but he's also a genuinely nice man (at one point, Nicholson breaks down and cries while talking about him). We also get glimpses behind-the-scenes on 2010's hilarious-looking Dinoshark, proving that his filmmaking methods haven't changed much in nearly 60 years. And we discover that his favourite filmmakers include Bergman, Fellini and Truffaut, whose films he distributed in America.

Continue reading: Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel Review

Beloved Review

By Christopher Null

Bad

Long-awaited before its release, most viewers of Beloved have tried to forget the multi-hour ordeal of a train wreck that their beloved Toni Morrison novel became on the big screen. As befits any Oprah pet project, Beloved the movie is indulgent, egocentric to its star (Winfrey, of course), heavy-handed, and sanctimonious. The story of emancipated slave Sethe (Winfrey), her daughter Denver and the drooling, gibbering zombie named Beloved (Thandie Newton, in a role that is as embarrassing as it is horrific) is somehow simplistic and utterly nonsensical at the same time. Director Jonathan Demme is also at fault for failing to exhibit even a modicum of restraint in making this film. After 3 hours of excrutiating torture on screen (costumes and set design aside), you'll probably agree with me that the worst thing about Beloved is that it's simply too long. By about 3 hours.