YEAR IN REVIEW: THE 10 BEST MOVIES OF 2021

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 12/31/2021
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME teaser poster | ©2021 Sony/Marvel

2021 was in many respects a nightmare year in real life, but it managed to deliver some really good movies. Here are my totally unscientific picks for the ten best. BELFAST. It’s a tough decision, but director/writer Kenneth Branagh’s ode to his childhood gets the edge, precisely because it could easily have been trite or average or, worst of all, boring. Instead, it’s informative and glorious and full of sorrow and joy. CYRANO. Directed by Joe Wright and adapted by Erica Schmidt from her stage musical (lyrics by Matt Berninger & Carin Besser, music by Aaron Dessner & Bryce Dessner), […]Read On »


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Movie Review: MASS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 10/11/2021
MASS movie poster | ©2021 Bleecker Street

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Reed Birney, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Breeda Wool, Kagen Albright, Michelle N. Carter Writer: Fran Kranz Director: Fran Kranz Distributor: Bleecker Street Release Date: October 8, 2021 MASS takes place in and around an Episcopal church, but the drama is not in the least concerned with church business, nor is there any discussion of formal religion. (It is not to be confused with Netflix’s MIDNIGHT MASS.) At the outset, we see a pair of church employees, Judy (Breeda Wool) and Anthony (Kagen Albright), preparing a meeting room under the supervision of Kendra (Michelle N. Carter). […]Read On »


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Movie Review: JUNGLELAND

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 11/11/2020
JUNGLELAND movie poster | ©2020 Paramount Pictures

Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Jack O’Connell, Jessica Bardem, Jonathan Majors, Fran Kranz, John Cullum Writers: Theodore P. Bressman & David Branson Smith & Max Winkler Director: Max Winkler Distributor: Paramount Pictures Release Date: November 10, 2020 JUNGLELAND at first seems like it’s going to be a fight film. We’re in Massachusetts, where older brother Stanley (Charlie Hunnam) trains his talented younger brother Lion (Jack O’Connell) like a regular boxer. Even though Lion is powerful and determined fighter, Stanley seems a lot more stoked about the young man’s prospects than Lion does himself. The guys work in a sewing shop by day, […]Read On »


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Movie Review: BLOODSUCKING BASTARDS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 09/04/2015
BLOODSUCKING BASTARDS movie poster | ©2015 Scream Factory

Rating: R Stars: Fran Kranz, Pedro Pascal, Joey Kern, Joel Murray, Emma Fitzpatrick, Yvette Yates, Justin Ware Writers: Dr. God & Ryan Mitts Director: Brian James O’Connell Distributor: Scream Factory Release Date: September 4, 2015 BLOODSUCKING BASTARDS combines the usual horrors of a dull office sales job – useless products, bored and uncooperative coworkers, a stressed-out boss – with a different kind of scare. What if your old college nemesis swooped in, got the promotion you’d been striving for and was a vampire? This is the situation that confronts our hero Evan (Fran Kranz). Up until now, Evan has been […]Read On »


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Exclusive Interview: Fran Kranz on THE LORD OF CATAN and more – PART 2

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 06/05/2014
Fran Kranz at the Los Angeles Premiere Screening of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ©2013 Sue Schneider

In addition to THE LORD OF CATAN, Kranz worked with more of his DOLLHOUSE friends on the feature film LUST FOR LOVE, which recurs on VoD and is currently available on iTunes. Kranz stars opposite Dichen Lachman (DOLLHOUSE, LAST RESORT), who also produced, in the low-budget independent romantic comedy. Other DOLLHOUSE personnel appearing in the film include Enver Gjokaj, Miracle Laurie, Felicia Day and Maurissa Tancharoen. ASSIGNMENT X: At one point did Dichen Lachman come to you and say, “Would you like to do a movie where the budget is a buck-ninety-five?” FRAN KRANZ: My God, is it that much? […]Read On »


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Exclusive Interview: Fran Kranz on THE LORD OF CATAN – PART 1

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 05/31/2014
Fran Kranz in THE LORD OF CATAN | ©2014 Stuart C. Paul

It isn’t that actor Fran Kranz only works with people he’s met on the projects he’s acted in for Joss Whedon – the TV series DOLLHOUSE and the films CABIN IN THE WOODS and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. In the past year, Kranz has had a recurring role on DALLAS and made several features (more about them later) that have nothing to do with those connections. Then again, he does often work with his fellow DOLLHOUSE alumni. One case in point is the short film THE LORD OF CATAN, which has its Los Angeles public premiere Saturday, May 31 at […]Read On »


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Exclusive Interview: THE LORD OF CATAN Writer-Director Stuart C. Paul chats about his short film

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 05/28/2014
Amy Acker in THE LORD OF CATAN | ©2014 Stuart C. Paul

THE LORD OF CATAN is a thirteen-minute film that stars Amy Acker and Fran Kranz as, respectively, Krysta and Todd, an apparently happy couple whose marriage hits the crisis point during a game of SETTLERS OF CATAN. LORD has its East Coast premiere Thursday, May 29, at the New York Shorts Festival at the Landmark Sunshine Theatre inManhattan; actor Kranz will be present at the screening for a Q&A follow-up. The West Coast premiere is two days later at the Los Angeles-based Dances With Films Festival at the Chinese Theatre, where Acker and writer/director/producer Stuart C. Paul will engage in […]Read On »


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Exclusive Interview: LUST FOR LOVE star Dichen Lachman chats about making a rom-com – Part 2

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 02/11/2014
LUST FOR LOVE Poster | © 2014 Gravitas Ventures

In Part 2 of this exclusive interview with Dichen Lachman, we talk with the actress/producer about the themes of LUST FOR LOVE, the romantic comedy film she produced with writer/director Anton King, which is now available on VoD and iTunes. Lachman also stars in the movie alongside some of her acting colleagues – Fran Kranz, Enver Gjokaj, Miracle Laurie, Felicia Day, Maurissa Tancharoen – from her two seasons as the character Priya on Joss Whedon’s TV series DOLLHOUSE. AX: As far as the themes of LUST FOR LOVE, do you think that it’s saying anything new, or is it just […]Read On »


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Exclusive Interview: LUST FOR LOVE star Dichen Lachman talks crowd-funded romantic-comedy – Part 1

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 02/07/2014
Dichen Lachman stars in LUST FOR LOVE | © 2014 Gravitas Ventures

LUST FOR LOVE, which premieres on Video on Demand and iTunes on February 7, is an independently-made, low-budget L.A. romantic comedy, written and directed by Anton King. Fran Kranz (DOLLHOUSE, CABIN IN THE WOODS, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING) plays Astor, who has spent his whole life in love with Mila, played by Beau Garrett (TRON: LEGACY, CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR). When Mila breaks up with him, Astor enlists the help of female best friend Callie, played by Dichen Lachman (DOLLHOUSE, BEING HUMAN, LAST RESORT) in winning back his girlfriend. The movie also features other DOLLHOUSE alumni including Enver Gjokaj, Miracle […]Read On »


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Exclusive Interview: Liza Lapira gets ready for SUPER FUN NIGHT

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 11/20/2013
Liza Lapira in SUPER FUN NIGHT - Season 1 | ©2013 ABC/Greg Zabilski

Liza (pronounced “Lee-za”) Lapira has been a steadily working actress for a good while now. She was in twenty-one episodes of HUFF, then appeared in the feature film CLOVERFIELD. The New York-born actress recurred on DEXTER as Detective Yuki Amado, on NCIS as Special Agent Michelle Lee and on two seasons of DOLLHOUSE as Ivy, the assistant to Fran Kranz’s brain machinery scientist Topher. The following year, she was a regular on Fox’s half-hour romantic comedy TRAFFIC LIGHT as a half of a happily married couple, then spent two seasons as a series regular on ABC’s half-hour DON’T TRUST THE […]Read On »


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