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      ‘Hot Frosty’ Review: The 8 Abs of Christmas

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      A hunky snowman comes to life in this Netflix holiday rom-com that strikes a certain muscle tone.Here’s the pitch for “Hot Frosty”: A widow wraps an enchanted scarf around a hunky snowman who springs to life and professes his love. Here are the two possible audience reactions: “How dumb!” and “How dumb — can’t wait to watch!”Lacey Chabert, the star of more than 30 Hallmark Channel romances, checks into work as Kathy, a generically sweet small-town diner owner with little to do besides repeat the premise until everyone is onboard. “You just buy that he’s a snowman?” she sputters to her fellow residents of Hope Springs.No matter. The director Jerry Ciccoritti knows all eyes are on Jack (Dustin Milligan), a shirtless naïf with the soul of a labradoodle and the abs of a supermodel. “I am not cold,” he insists with a twinkle. Jack adores fixing roofs, befriending children, baking homemade pizza and rubbing ice on his bare chest. Nevertheless, Kathy is slow to warm to his charms.To be fair, Jack is a tricky role. It’s hard for a male actor to play innocent and seductive. There’s one carnal gag involving a lusty neighbor (Lauren Holly), but otherwise “Hot Frosty” doesn’t stoke much sexual heat. Families can watch together with no risk of grandma getting distracted and burning a batch of cookies.The script shamelessly re-gifts scenes from “Pretty Woman” and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” along with “Edward Scissorhands,” like when Kathy’s martini-chugging pals swoon that a man this perfect has to be magic. But shameless is the goal. Everyone involved knows exactly what movie they’re making — especially Craig Robinson as the hilarious town sheriff, a killjoy determined to arrest Jack for streaking.Hot FrostyNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Watch on Netflix. More

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      Freddy Kreuger and 40 Years of Nightmares

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      With the release of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” 40 years ago, the horror villain Freddy Krueger clawed his way to becoming a pop culture phenomenon.When “A Nightmare on Elm Street” hit theaters 40 years ago this month, few would have predicted a pop culture phenomenon in the making. Yet it would become one of 1984’s most profitable pictures and spur a lucrative franchise.The success of the series was due primarily to two factors. The first was the thoughtful approach Wes Craven, a humanities professor-turned-filmmaker, took to the material, drawing inspiration from the terrifying stories of Southeast Asian refugees in America who died in their sleep under mysterious circumstances in the 1980s. He fused those stories with the contemporaneous satanic panic and accusations of widespread child molestation to create the character of Fred Krueger, a high-school janitor accused of sexually abusing several children in the small town of Springwood, Ohio. After the man was freed on a technicality, the parents of Springwood took the law into their own hands, burning Krueger alive. A decade later, the undead Freddy haunts the nightmares of Springwood’s teens, murdering them in their dreams.“Nightmare” is a film of genuine fear, dread and menace in which Craven effectively contrasts the pure Americana of the daytime sequences — picturesque houses, tree-lined streets, chirping birds — with the darkness of Freddy’s gruesome deeds. He’s tapping into universal fears, beyond even those of his slasher-movie brethren; not all of us have been stalked by a masked killer while babysitting or fooling around with a fellow camp counselor, but we all sleep, and dream and have nightmares.The second key to the success of the “Nightmare” films was Robert Englund, the classically trained actor who played Krueger — referred to as Fred in the original film, but by the cuddlier Freddy as the series continued. Each installment brought in new protagonists, new actors, new writers and new directors, who fleshed out the character (pardon the pun) with new dimensions and a broadened back story. He would evolve — if that’s the proper description — from the menacing, murderous abuser of the initial entry to a rakish antihero. By the fourth film, he was like an Arnold Schwarzenegger character of the era, spouting groan-inducing quips at his victims (“No pain, no gain!” he would taunt a weight lifter he was torturing) in films that were as silly as they were scary.Robert Englund in “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”New Line CinemaFreddy was a ubiquitous pop culture presence. He was mentioned in speeches by President Ronald Reagan, featured in pop songs, video games and a “Freddy’s Nightmares” anthology television series, and feverishly merchandised in products including children’s toys and pajamas, odd branding for a character accused of being a pedophile. Englund was among the last names in the credits for the first film; by the fourth, he was billed above the title. As the series progressed, the actor would contemplate the social implications of the character. “It’s a warning of the future,” he told Newsday in 1989. “It’s a fable. It’s the Ballad of Freddy Krueger. I am the ghost story of the late ’80s.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Tony Todd, Prolific Actor Best Known for ‘Candyman,’ Dies at 69

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      Mr. Todd’s decades-long career spanned across mediums and genres, but he was largely associated with a scary figure summoned in front of a mirror.Tony Todd, a prolific actor whose more than 100 film and television credits included “Candyman” and “Final Destination,” died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 69.Jeffrey Goldberg, Mr. Todd’s manager, announced the death in a statement on Saturday morning. He did not specify the cause.Mr. Todd’s decades-long acting career spanned genres and mediums. He starred or had prominent roles in several films, including the 1990 remake of “Night of the Living Dead,” “The Crow,” “The Rock” and Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning Vietnam War movie, “Platoon.” His television credits include “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “24,” “The X-Files,” and many other shows. He also lent his rich voice to animation and video games.He was perhaps best known for his role as the titular demon in the 1992 movie “Candyman,” He told The New York Times in 2020 that he was proud of playing the terrifying figure with a hook for a hand, a Black man who had been wronged in life and is summoned from the beyond by people who call his name five times while looking in a mirror — unleashing vicious attacks in which the Candyman slices to death those who dared to disturb him. “If I had never done another horror film,” he said, “I could live with that, and I’d carry this character.”Mr. Todd reprised the role in the film’s 1995 and 1999 sequels and returned to it for the 2021 reboot, directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Jordan Peele.In the “Final Destination” franchise, Mr. Todd played the role of the mysterious funeral-home owner William Bludworth — the rare recurring character in a film series that famously killed off all of its new characters by the time the end credits rolled.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Most Anticipated New Movie Releases in Winter 2024

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      From life stories (“A Complete Unknown,” “The Fire Inside”) to animated tales (“Moana 2,” “Mufasa”), these are the films we can’t wait to see this season.November‘EMILIA PÉREZ’ Four actresses — Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz — shared a prize at Cannes for their performances in this unlikeliest of musicals, about the friendship between a Mexican cartel kingpin (Gascón) and a lawyer (Saldaña) hired to arrange the kingpin’s gender transition. Jacques Audiard directed. (Nov. 13; Netflix)‘HOT FROSTY’ Remember “Mannequin”? This sounds kind of like that, except instead of a mannequin coming to life, it’s a snowman (Dustin Milligan), and instead of Andrew McCarthy, it has Lacey Chabert. (Nov. 13; Netflix)‘ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT’ This film from Payal Kapadia was the first Indian feature to compete at Cannes in 30 years; it won the Grand Jury Prize, effectively second place. It concerns two women (Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha) in Mumbai. One has a husband living abroad; the other is navigating an interfaith relationship that she strives to keep quiet. (Nov. 15; in theaters)Karla Sofía Gascón, left, is the title drug kingpin and Zoe Saldaña is the lawyer helping arrange her client’s gender transition.Netflix‘ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE’ The rocket man himself recalls how he soared to stardom in this documentary, shot during preparations for his 2022 appearances at Dodger Stadium, purportedly his final North American concerts. (Nov. 15 in theaters, Dec. 13 on Disney+)‘GHOST CAT ANZU’ Anzu is a big, fluffy, animated talking cat whose antics give Garfield a run for his money in this anime favorite from the festival circuit. (Nov. 15; in theaters)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      $7 Million Deal Is Reached for Upper West Side Movie Theater, Nonprofit Says

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      A nonprofit group says it has reached an agreement to buy the shuttered Metro Theater from its owners, but the deal is contingent on raising the money by the end of the year.A group trying to restore a landmark Upper West Side movie theater says it has signed an agreement to buy the building for $7 million if it can raise the money by the end of the year.The nonprofit corporation Upper West Side Cinema Center said on Friday it had reached the agreement with the current owners of the Metro Theater, which is on Broadway near 99th Street and closed in 2005. The building, known for its pink terra-cotta Art Deco facade, is owned by the estate of its former owner, Albert Bialek, who died last year. The owners could not immediately be reached for comment.Attempts in recent years to reimagine the space as a Planet Fitness gym or Alamo Drafthouse cinema were unsuccessful, and development options are limited because of the theater’s landmark status and because Bialek sold the air rights above the building. The nonprofit is spearheaded by Ira Deutchman, an independent film producer, and Adeline Monzier, the U.S. representative of the French film promoter Unifrance and a guest programmer at the Metrograph, a Lower East Side theater.Deutchman said that there was already funding pledged to cover about one-third of the sale price. The nonprofit is hoping to raise the rest with a mix of philanthropic support from major donors, government financing and individual contributions from current and former Upper West Side residents who may be nostalgic about the theater’s golden days, he said.If the nonprofit is successful in securing the money to cover the sale price, the next step would be to raise an additional, estimated $15 million to $25 million for its restoration.“I’d never worked on a project before where every single person I tell about it, their response is, ‘Oh, that is so needed,’” Deutchman said. “My joke is that they’ve never said that about a movie I’ve made.” More

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      Jonathan Haze, Star of ‘The Little Shop of Horrors,’ Dies at 95

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      Best known for his star turn in the cult film about a flesh-eating plant, he was a go-to member of the low-budget auteur Roger Corman’s repertory company.Jonathan Haze, a prince of the B-movie who appeared in nearly 20 pulp cinema popcorn munchers by the king of the B-movie, the low-budget auteur Roger Corman — most notably as Seymour, the sniveling flower shop assistant in the original “The Little Shop of Horrors” — died on Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 95.His death was confirmed by his daughter Rebecca Haze.Mr. Haze, a fledgling actor who had hitchhiked to Los Angeles to chase his screen dreams, was working at a Hollywood gas station in 1952 when he was discovered by Wyott Ordung, a young actor and aspiring director affiliated with Mr. Corman.Mr. Corman at that point was just starting a career in which he would produce more than 300 exploitation films and direct roughly 50, with titles like “The Beast With a Million Eyes” and “Teenage Cave Man.” He was also known for his eye for talent: He gave early opportunities to Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Jack Nicholson, among many others.Mr. Corman cast Mr. Haze in two movies in 1954: “Monster From the Ocean Floor,” directed by Mr. Ordung, and “The Fast and the Furious,” whose title would be licensed decades later for the Vin Diesel car-frenzy franchise, in which he had an uncredited role.Among the many other Corman movies in which Mr. Haze appeared was “Not of This Earth” (1957), with Paul Birch, center, and Beverly Garland.MGMMr. Haze, left, and Ms. Garland were also in Mr. Corman’s “Gunslinger” (1956), along with Chris Alcaide, center, and Martin Kingsley.MGMAs the Tumblr site Know Your B Movie Actors observed: “Haze was a small, slight man with boyish good looks, and it was a virtual certainty that he would never be a leading man, even in Corman’s universe. Instead, he devoted himself to playing an assortment of oddballs and losers.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Hippo’ Review: This Coming-of-Age Tale Can Go

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      Trafficking in irreverence, the film follows a pair of stepsiblings with sexual tension.Like a stubborn toddler zipping his mouth shut while stomping his feet, “Hippo” manages to be noisily aggravating while saying nothing at all. Directed by Mark H. Rapaport in his feature debut, the indie film traffics in cynicism and irreverence while lacking in the quality it seems to want most: individuality.Shot in black and white and set in ’90s suburbia, the movie follows Hippo (Kimball Farley), a demanding teenager who lives at home with his mother (Eliza Roberts) and subdued stepsister, Buttercup (Lilla Kizlinger). The siblings are experiencing dual sexual awakenings, and a narrator (voiced by Eric Roberts) walks us through a multitude of stylized scenes in which the pair investigate their desires while pondering their greater purposes in life.Soon, and rather randomly, they each land on one. For Hippo, it is to protect the homestead from a variety of perceived threats. For Buttercup, it is to become pregnant.The story, then, is one of gendered stereotypes: Hippo, the chauvinist fixated on violence; and Buttercup, the virginal naïf longing to be with child. She is also in love with Hippo. What does she see in him? The film does not trouble itself to let us know, which is surprising given the sheer volume of narration overlaying shots of Buttercup lounging with a faraway look.“Hippo” is meant to be a comedy — a dark, muted one with a couple of rowdy set pieces. And although Roberts, channeling frivolity, does score some funny lines, the movie most often reads as a hollow exercise in mannered filmmaking, orbiting an array of characters whose carefully curated quirks are flimsy enough to blow away with the wind.HippoNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. In theaters. More

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      Horror Movies to Stream Now: ‘Don’t Move,’ ‘Time Cut’ and More

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      This month’s picks include 2000s nostalgia, feminist thrills and the one and only Corey Feldman.‘Mads’Stream it on Shudder.David Moreau’s spectacular single-shot thriller is set at the beginning of the end of the world. It begins as a young woman violently stabs herself in a car driven by Romain (Milton Riche, excellent). It continues as Romain’s girlfriend, Anais (Laurie Pavy, fearless and unhinged), becomes infected with an unexplained affliction that turns her into a feral maniac. And it ends with a despairing scene inside an elevator that — actually, I’ll stop there, because to say more would ruin the perspective-shifting twists that vault this singular French film down its deranged and gruesome path.As he showed in his assaultive home invasion film “Them,” Moreau is an assured writer and propulsive director. Philip Lozano’s disorienting cinematography, along with pulsing sounds and foreboding voice-overs, together have a grip that doesn’t let up. For fans of the New French Extremity who want to feel like it’s 2000 all over again, this nihilistic film is a must-see.‘The Birthday’Rent or buy it on major platforms.Eugenio Mira’s nightmarish farce premiered at the Sitges International Film Festival in 2004 but was never shown in theaters after making the festival rounds. It’s now streaming for the first time after building a following when a bootleg copy was uploaded to YouTube. Jordan Peele considers it “a cinematic marvel,” according to the film’s press notes.I’m including it here not because it’s a horror film in any traditional sense; the blood bath stuff doesn’t arrive until late. What it does have is Corey Feldman giving an all-out, darkly comedic performance that’s one of his best.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More