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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Weapons' spins small town into chaos that mirrors real life, humor and all
LOS ANGELES (AP) — If there's one thing Zach Cregger learned while writing and directing his upcoming horror movie 'Weapons,' it's that the best laughs won't come from the jokes he writes. The film follows Cregger's 2022 solo directorial debut 'Barbarians,' the widely celebrated genre-bending horror. This time, the young director bends even more, spinning a town into chaos when all children but one from the same classroom mysteriously vanish, leaving a trail of questions in their place. The Warner Bros. release hits theaters Friday and is as creepy as it is hilarious — a delicate balance that required Cregger to strip any intentionality behind his humor, he told The Associated Press. 'If the humor is coming from an authentic reaction that a character's having, then it works,' Cregger said. 'There's a lot of jokes that didn't make it into the movie that I thought were going to be so funny. And then we did a test screening, and nobody laughed and I'm like, OK, it's gotta go.' Paranoia runs deep in the film. The town's heartbroken parents are represented by Josh Brolin's character, Archer, whose son was among the missing. The students' teacher, played by Julia Garner, is determined to solve the mystery, despite parents blaming her for the disappearances. The humor here comes naturally, Cregger said, as characters navigate the absurd events happening around them. 'You're not playing for the laugh, otherwise you lose the laugh,' said Brolin, whose character stumbles through his grief, a state ripe for what he called genuine and 'embarrassingly funny' moments. Maybrook's unrest puts a mirror up to society If 17 kids up and ran out of their homes at 2:17 a.m. one morning with no trace, what would a community do? That question drove 'Weapons,' painting a picture of a town left reeling by the mystery. The film setting — the fictional small town of Maybrook, Illinois — is just as integral to the plot as any of its main characters. The town feels hyper realistic, a core tenet to the movie's ability to blend humor and horror, two genres that Garner said are 'opposite side of the same coin.' 'It's funny because this isn't even like a proper horror film,' Garner said. 'It has comedic elements and has horror elements, but it's kind of its own genre, in a way.' The town's reactions to tragedy and shock was intentionally meant to feel oddly realistic, Cregger said. Parents are outraged, storming into town halls and angrily demanding answers from the police, the school and, most pointedly, the students' teacher. Yet, when Garner's character is attacked in broad daylight, bystanders and store owners hardly bat an eye, a level of indifference that Cregger said is just as realistic as the parental outrage. 'We definitely have a, 'Whoa, not my problem,' kind of a thing when chaos is occurring, because we see it so much on TV that I think we're able to just kind of tune it out, even when it's happening in front of us,' Cregger said. 'Living in America, I've seen crazy things happen with my own eyes right in front of me, and I've just kept walking for better or worse, so I don't know, it feels real.' 'Weapons' relies on imperfect characters Brolin — who's found wide-reaching success across Hollywood, from the 1985 classic, 'The Goonies,' to the Marvel universe — initially hesitated when approached for the film. As a father of four, facing his worst nightmare — losing his children — was 'not something I want to show up to work for,' he said. But 'Weapons' lends the characters a layer of depth that allowed horror, a genre he said is typically treated as cosmetic, to suddenly have 'depth, and humor and absurdity,' which, coupled with his own adult daughter's love of 'Barbarian,' was enough to convince him to sign on. The movie subtly mocks suburban life, as goriness and horror occur under the sights of nosy neighbors, corrupt police departments and struggling relationships. Each character that drives the plot forward is just as flawed as they are victims of tragedy. Gandy, the schoolteacher, is harassed by parents for her missing students, but is secretly battling alcoholism. Archer, the heartbroken father, is failing in his job and his marriage as he navigates his son's absence. Paul Morgan, played by Alden Ehrenreich, is a local beat police officer with secrets of his own. 'Every character is perceived in a certain way and then every character breaks,' Brolin said. 'It all comes down to this very base thing: What if you lost the thing that you value the most? How do you deal?' For Ehrenreich, who's found success in dramas, notably as a young Han Solo, 'Weapons' offered a different pace, but its horror wasn't what drew him in. Rather, he was captivated by the film's depth and weirdness. 'The weird resonance, the weird opening voice-over, the way it was written and the kind of emotional brokenness of these characters and the depth that I felt was in the writing, that was as deep as any drama I've read in years,' Ehrenreich said.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump administration sanctions a Mexican rapper over allegations of cartel ties
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Trump administration said Wednesday it was sanctioning Mexican musician Ricardo Hernández, known as 'El Makabelico,' over allegations that the artist was laundering money for a drug cartel. The move comes after the administration has stripped the visas of some of Mexico's most famous musicians, targeting those whose genres often explore themes related to cartels. The U.S. Treasury Department accused Hernández, a musician they refer to as a 'narco-rapper,' of being associated with the Cartel del Noreste, CDN, an evolution of the former Zetas Cartel. According to the department, he laundered money for the criminal group through concerts and events. The CDN is one of several Latin American organized crime groups that the Trump administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The administration alleges that 50% of Hernández's royalties on streaming platforms go directly to the cartel, leading to his sanctioning alongside leaders of the cartel on allegations that he acted for or on behalf of the criminal group. Hernández did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 'CDN depends on these alternative revenue streams and money laundering methods to boost their criminal enterprise, diversifying their income beyond criminal activity like drug trafficking, human smuggling, and extortion,' wrote the Treasury Department in a news release. The sanctions would block the rapper's properties in the U.S. and freeze financial transactions with any businesses owned by those sanctioned, and threaten secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that do business with them. Hernández, whose stage name is a play on words relating to cartels, performs his songs wearing a black ski mask and often sings songs related to the criminal groups, making reference to street life, cartel lifestyles and the realities faced in cartel-dominated areas. In recent years, young artists like Peso Pluma have brought Mexican genres into the international spotlight by mixing traditional rhythms with trap and other styles, competing with global stars includingTaylor Swift and Bad Bunny on streaming platforms. The genres — primarily 'narco-corridos' — have also become the center of controversy because a number of artists sing about cartels and 'narco culture' associated with them. Some songs romanticize criminals, while others speak to the harsh realities of youth living in cartel-controlled areas, similar to rap music in the U.S. The music has long fueled a debate about the fine line between artistic expression and censorship, as a number of Mexican states have previously banned performances of certain genres. In recent months, the Trump administration has revoked the visas of a slew of different artists related to the genre. In May, the famous northern Mexican band Grupo Firme, which has taken steps to distance themselves from the cartel-centric themes of the genre, announced they would have to cancel an upcoming show in California because their visas were suspended. In April, the administration said it was revoking the visas of the band Alegres de Barranco after they flashed the face of a cartel boss behind them at a concert, prompting a controversy and even criminal investigations in Mexico. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ryan Speedo Green triumphs in first outing as Wagner's god in ‘Die Walküre'
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Jemez and Sangre de Cristo mountains had vanished into the night sky by the time Ryan Speedo Green sang his first words as Wotan in Wagner's 'Die Walküre.' Still, their invisible presence around the Santa Fe Opera House was a fitting backdrop, since Wagner set the scene on a high mountain ridge. And indeed the part of Wotan, one of the most demanding roles in opera for a dramatic bass-baritone, seems to inspire mountain imagery. To conductor James Gaffigan, its length and difficulty make it 'the Mount Everest for this particular voice type.' To Green, 'It feels almost as if this is the pinnacle, the height of roles that you could portray.' Now, at age 39, Green stands proudly at that pinnacle, if sometimes still shaking his head in disbelief at how far he's come. Having survived a troubled childhood that included time in juvenile detention, he found a voice teacher who believed in his gift, honed his skills through years of study and an apprenticeship at the Vienna State Opera, then sang a series of increasingly prominent roles at the Metropolitan Opera to emerge as a full-fledged star. 'I never thought it would happen, that my career would blow up the way it has,' Green said in an interview between performances, which continue through Aug. 21. A role that has everything The Santa Fe performances are his first time singing 'Die Walküre,' the second of the four operas in Wagner's tetralogy and the one with the biggest and most daunting role for the head of the gods. It calls for a wide dramatic range — from exuberance, to despair, from fury to compassion. And the vocal challenges include a 24-minute monologue in which Wotan recapitulates the previous events in his life, and a scene at the end of a long evening for which he has to keep his voice fresh as he bids a tender farewell to his disobedient daughter Brünnhilde, sung here by soprano Tamara Wilson. 'My Wotan is still in its infancy and I can see it grow with every performance as I get it more into my blood and into my feet,' Green said. 'I'm lucky that I'm getting my first whack at it at 39.' Even in this first outing, his performance drew bravos from the audience and critics. 'Green … portrayed the troubled god as if he had been doing it for years,' wrote Harvey Steiman on Seen and Heard International. 'Sensitive to every singer around him, he delivered one great moment after another in his rich baritone, as silky as it is powerful.' Green actually made his debut as Wotan last year in a semi-staged production of 'Das Rheingold,' the opening 'Ring' installment at the Los Angeles Philharmonic under conductor Gustavo Dudamel. 'From the moment he walked onstage, everyone sensed his God-like presence,' Dudamel said in an email to the AP. 'When he sings, the colors and richness of his voice wash over you, and the sound completely surrounds you.' Freed to be himself As a Black man, whose 6-foot-4 height and muscular frame make him stand out in any setting, Green said the role of Wotan provides a welcome outlet for feelings that are often pent up. 'From the moment I became a man, my mom told me: 'When you walk in the street, don't walk too tall. Make yourself small, so you don't stand out, so you can survive,'' he said. 'When I sang my first Wotan, it was the first time I played a character who doesn't have to worry about what anybody else thinks of him.' Green will perform the 'Walküre' Wotan again next spring with Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic and will play Wotan in a new 'Ring' cycle at the Metropolitan Opera set to launch in the 2027-28 season, Met General Manager Peter Gelb told the AP. Practice until perfect Among his colleagues, Green is known for his relentless work ethic and perfectionism. 'He's extremely hard on himself,' said Gaffigan, who is conducting the Santa Fe performances and recalled the first time he heard from Green after he was cast. 'He called me to start discussing the role before he even got to Santa Fe,' Gaffigan said, 'And from the first words on the telephone, he said, 'I want an hour for Act 2 and an hour for Act 3, can you give me that?' … I knew this guy was really serious and he wouldn't give up on getting this time. 'The dedication to the text and the music and the rhythms is at the highest level of preparation I've heard in a long time,' Gaffigan added. 'He knows how serious this is. It's a major ascent in his career.' Green laughs when reminded of that phone call and mentions how he had prepared for his first Wagner role more than a decade ago. 'It was the Second Knight in 'Parsifal' … and I was rehearsing for three months for a role that literally has 61 seconds of music,' Green said.. 'I was like, this is at the Met, I need to be perfect,' he said. 'That kind of mentality has been my saving grace, because I put everything I've got into it, vocally, physically, mentally.'
