Richard Setlowe, a longtime entertainment journalist who transitioned from his Variety staff job to become a network exec and later a prolific novelist, died Aug. 25 at Kaiser Permanente in Panorama City, Calif. after long-term health issues. He was 89.
Setlowe worked as a writer and editor at the San Francisco Examiner and contributed to Time, Life and TV Guide. He also wrote for Variety on film, music and drama, from 1962 through 1998. He was Variety‘s Bay Area correspondent for several years and became a full-time staffer in September 1969, including a stint as lead film reviewer.
He left journalism to become VP of creative affairs at ABC Pictures in March 1971.
Setlowe was born in New York on April 21, 1933, and raised there and in Tennessee. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., where he was a running back on the football team. He transferred to USC on a Navy scholarship and...
Setlowe worked as a writer and editor at the San Francisco Examiner and contributed to Time, Life and TV Guide. He also wrote for Variety on film, music and drama, from 1962 through 1998. He was Variety‘s Bay Area correspondent for several years and became a full-time staffer in September 1969, including a stint as lead film reviewer.
He left journalism to become VP of creative affairs at ABC Pictures in March 1971.
Setlowe was born in New York on April 21, 1933, and raised there and in Tennessee. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., where he was a running back on the football team. He transferred to USC on a Navy scholarship and...
- 9/14/2022
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
The scope of this slice of wartime history is so small, it’s almost the movie equivalent of a one-man show. There are perhaps only a dozen speaking roles. Brian Cox is impressive as The Man Who Saved England in its Darkest Hour, but the drama reduces both the man and the historical crisis to trivial status, as little more than a personal emotional crisis: “Winston, the Haunted Imperialist.”
Churchill
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group
2017 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date October 3, 2017 / 30.99
Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Ella Purnell, Julian Wadham, Richard Durden, James Purefoy.
Cinematography: David Higgs
Film Editor: Chris Gill
Original Music: Lorne Balfe
Written by Alex von Tunzelmann
Produced by Claudia Bluemhuber, Nick Taussig, Piers Tempest, Paul Van Carter
Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky
No, it isn’t Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill … that’s another movie, Darkest Hour. This is the Brian Cox Churchill movie.
Any...
Churchill
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group
2017 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date October 3, 2017 / 30.99
Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Ella Purnell, Julian Wadham, Richard Durden, James Purefoy.
Cinematography: David Higgs
Film Editor: Chris Gill
Original Music: Lorne Balfe
Written by Alex von Tunzelmann
Produced by Claudia Bluemhuber, Nick Taussig, Piers Tempest, Paul Van Carter
Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky
No, it isn’t Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill … that’s another movie, Darkest Hour. This is the Brian Cox Churchill movie.
Any...
- 9/30/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A British thriller about honour killings avoids worthiness but succumbs to melodrama
Writer/director Shan Khan describes his somewhat conflicted first feature as an attempt to tell a story about the harrowing subject of "honour" killings in a manner that could not be dismissed by a mainstream audience as too "worthy". The resulting thriller is torn between providing a serious portrayal of a very real social problem (the yearly number of such cases in the UK is now thought to be in double figures) and indulging in more generic melodrama as Mona (Aiysha Hart) is hunted by her British Muslim family with the aid of Nf thug Bounty (Paddy Considine), whose old Aryan Brotherhood allegiances appear to be taking their toll. The performances are strong, particularly from Harvey Virdi who breathes creepy life into the role of murderous mother, and cinematographer David Higgs makes good use of the shadows and light in the urban locations,...
Writer/director Shan Khan describes his somewhat conflicted first feature as an attempt to tell a story about the harrowing subject of "honour" killings in a manner that could not be dismissed by a mainstream audience as too "worthy". The resulting thriller is torn between providing a serious portrayal of a very real social problem (the yearly number of such cases in the UK is now thought to be in double figures) and indulging in more generic melodrama as Mona (Aiysha Hart) is hunted by her British Muslim family with the aid of Nf thug Bounty (Paddy Considine), whose old Aryan Brotherhood allegiances appear to be taking their toll. The performances are strong, particularly from Harvey Virdi who breathes creepy life into the role of murderous mother, and cinematographer David Higgs makes good use of the shadows and light in the urban locations,...
- 4/5/2014
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
After directing Edward Bond's Bingo at the Young Vic, with Patrick Stewart in the lead, I decided to make a short film inspired by the play
Edward Bond's play Bingo, which focuses on the last months of Shakespeare's life, captures many of the beauties and horrors of the poet's age. At one point, Shakespeare's character describes "women with shopping bags stepping over puddles of blood" on the streets of London. At another, he stands under the body of a beggar woman who has been hung from a gibbet, and remembers watching bear-baiting. "The baited bear … tied to the stake," he says, as if reliving the scene. "Its dirty coat needs brushing. Dried mud and spume. Pale dust."
Paris Gardens, where bears were baited, is in Southwark – just around the corner from the Young Vic, where I've recently been directing Bond's play. Now one of the few visible remnants...
Edward Bond's play Bingo, which focuses on the last months of Shakespeare's life, captures many of the beauties and horrors of the poet's age. At one point, Shakespeare's character describes "women with shopping bags stepping over puddles of blood" on the streets of London. At another, he stands under the body of a beggar woman who has been hung from a gibbet, and remembers watching bear-baiting. "The baited bear … tied to the stake," he says, as if reliving the scene. "Its dirty coat needs brushing. Dried mud and spume. Pale dust."
Paris Gardens, where bears were baited, is in Southwark – just around the corner from the Young Vic, where I've recently been directing Bond's play. Now one of the few visible remnants...
- 4/19/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
- This is not a James Bond movie. - Well, it certainly feels like it. Not exactly. But it certainly feels thoroughly soaked in 1970s style. The misty cinematography is
- 6/7/2010
- by Ryan Adams
- AwardsDaily.com
There is something clearly uncomfortable about serial killer Tony Benson, the title character in director Gerard Johnson’s 2009 English film, “Tony.” From shot one we see Tony walking confusedly along litter-strewn streets, a look of bewilderment on his face as he seemingly tries to make sense of what’s around him. This is accentuated by the way Johnson and cinematographer David Higgs (Dp on Guy Ritchie’s “RocknRolla” and the 1983 segment of the wonderful “Red Riding” trilogy) shoot the film, infusing it with harsh and pointed lighting and cold colors that give the entire look of the picture an uneasiness. Additionally, Peter Ferdinando’s awkward and chilling portrayal of Tony is striking. Kept frequently in long to medium shots as he roams the streets, Tony and his relationship to his environment is regularly called to attention. Despite being surrounded, Tony is visibly alone, situated in isolation within the frame and...
- 4/5/2010
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Disclaimer/Apology
I have held back on publication of this review for a number of weeks, due to what I believe is a serious conflict of interests. When I first accepted the assignment of reviewing the film, I was unaware that it featured the actor/comedian Ricky Grover.
I am currently working for a production company that is part-owned by Grover, and am in frequent, close contact with him.
That said, after long, hard thought I have decided to publish the review. I can’t promise that it will be as impartial as I would have liked, but equally I like to think that I am professional enough to be able to be objectively review a film, despite any personal or professional connection to it.
And if not, well, feel free to disregard the review as sycophantic rubbish.
Review
Tony shouldn’t work. The central character is an action film-obsessed...
I have held back on publication of this review for a number of weeks, due to what I believe is a serious conflict of interests. When I first accepted the assignment of reviewing the film, I was unaware that it featured the actor/comedian Ricky Grover.
I am currently working for a production company that is part-owned by Grover, and am in frequent, close contact with him.
That said, after long, hard thought I have decided to publish the review. I can’t promise that it will be as impartial as I would have liked, but equally I like to think that I am professional enough to be able to be objectively review a film, despite any personal or professional connection to it.
And if not, well, feel free to disregard the review as sycophantic rubbish.
Review
Tony shouldn’t work. The central character is an action film-obsessed...
- 3/1/2010
- by Ben Mortimer
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Year: 2009
Directors: Gerard Johnson
Writers: Gerard Johnson
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 8 out of 10
[Editor's note: We brought you the exclusive teaser and poster and now we bring you the first review of this insane looking flick. Interview with writer/director Gerard Johnson coming soon.]
To kick-off our coverage of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2009 we've got Gerard Johnson's first feature, 'Tony', and it's quite excellent! A week in the life of a lonely psycho-killer with severe social problems and an unfashionable moustache, Tony is a darkly comic take on the horror/killer genre. Peter Ferdinando plays our eponymous anti-hero as a nervous and misunderstood loser, unemployable and on state funded job-seeker allowance for 20 years, but prone to sudden acts of extreme violence against anyone who might torment him.
The film is shot extremely well (props to Dp David Higgs) with contrasting scenes of Tony's claustrophobic, spartan council flat and oddly lush views of a very grim looking London, complete with drug addicts, street walkers, homeless people and a generally disenfranchised looking populace. Tony wanders the streets, really...
Directors: Gerard Johnson
Writers: Gerard Johnson
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 8 out of 10
[Editor's note: We brought you the exclusive teaser and poster and now we bring you the first review of this insane looking flick. Interview with writer/director Gerard Johnson coming soon.]
To kick-off our coverage of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2009 we've got Gerard Johnson's first feature, 'Tony', and it's quite excellent! A week in the life of a lonely psycho-killer with severe social problems and an unfashionable moustache, Tony is a darkly comic take on the horror/killer genre. Peter Ferdinando plays our eponymous anti-hero as a nervous and misunderstood loser, unemployable and on state funded job-seeker allowance for 20 years, but prone to sudden acts of extreme violence against anyone who might torment him.
The film is shot extremely well (props to Dp David Higgs) with contrasting scenes of Tony's claustrophobic, spartan council flat and oddly lush views of a very grim looking London, complete with drug addicts, street walkers, homeless people and a generally disenfranchised looking populace. Tony wanders the streets, really...
- 6/16/2009
- QuietEarth.us
Release Date: Oct. 31
Director/Writer: Guy Ritchie
Cinematographer: David Higgs
Starring: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong
Studio/Run Time: Warner Bros., 117 mins.
British gangsters deliver popcorn violence in quirky heist film
A decade ago, Guy Ritchie became the new British icon of pop violence with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. His visual assault of gunfire camera cuts and cockney one-liners made him the international competition to Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avery’s exploitation renaissance. After the combined disappointment of Swept Away and Revolver, Ritchie returns to form with RocknRolla, a hyper-stylized crime ensemble with just enough bombast for a modest career resurrection. The film stars Tom Wilkinson as Lenny Cole, a traditional gangster whose real-estate monopoly is pursued by an Eastern Bloc crime lord (Karel Roden) and a troupe of modern opportunists led by One Two (Gerard Butler). A boring exposition and clichéd archetypes trail into colorful bits of hilarity,...
Director/Writer: Guy Ritchie
Cinematographer: David Higgs
Starring: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong
Studio/Run Time: Warner Bros., 117 mins.
British gangsters deliver popcorn violence in quirky heist film
A decade ago, Guy Ritchie became the new British icon of pop violence with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. His visual assault of gunfire camera cuts and cockney one-liners made him the international competition to Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avery’s exploitation renaissance. After the combined disappointment of Swept Away and Revolver, Ritchie returns to form with RocknRolla, a hyper-stylized crime ensemble with just enough bombast for a modest career resurrection. The film stars Tom Wilkinson as Lenny Cole, a traditional gangster whose real-estate monopoly is pursued by an Eastern Bloc crime lord (Karel Roden) and a troupe of modern opportunists led by One Two (Gerard Butler). A boring exposition and clichéd archetypes trail into colorful bits of hilarity,...
- 10/30/2008
- Pastemagazine.com
Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Idris Elba, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges star in Guy Ritchie's "Rocknrolla" actioner which scored a solid B rating or 4/5. Hertfordshire, England born Ritchie makes his big screen return after 2005's "Revolver" which starred Jason Statham. Ritchie is a 1999 BAFTA Award nominee for his work on "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and, not so impressively, a Razzie Award winner for 2002's "Swept Away." Ritchie is at the wheel of 2010's Robert Downey Jr. starrer "Sherlock Holmes" 2008 Toronto International Film Festival Review:Director Guy Ritchie reclaims his mojo with 'RocknRolla'Filmmaker Guy Ritchie, kingpin of the modern British gangster drama thanks to "Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels" (1996) and "Snatch" (2000), returns to familiar turf with his latest caper film "RocknRolla." About the bloody dealings between longtime London gangster Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) and Russian billionaire Uri Obomavich (Karel Roden), Ritchie returns to the spotlight and more...
- 9/8/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
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