Latest news with #Dollhouse
Japan Times
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Parental grief and spiritual terror collide in ‘Dollhouse'
If I had gone into the mystery film 'Dollhouse' cold, seeing director Shinobu Yaguchi's name in the closing credits would have made me doubt my own eyes. Yaguchi has long been Japan's leading purveyor of smartly crafted comedies with a zero-to-hero arc. Among the best is the 2001 'Waterboys,' a feel-good comedy about a boys' synchronized swimming team that inspired countless knock-offs, and the 2017 'Survival Family,' whose story of a dysfunctional family forced to fend for itself when the world's electric grid goes down was both funny and prescient. The premise of 'Dollhouse' — a creepy doll wreaks havoc on the humans around it — is a horror genre staple, one domestic example being Hideo Nakata's 2015 'Ghost Theater,' in which a malevolent doll spreads terror and confusion in a small theater troupe. But Yaguchi's take is disturbingly different, drawing on elemental parental fears and ancient strains of Japanese culture and religion. Masami Nagasawa, who also starred in Yaguchi's 2014 'Wood Job!,' plays Yoshie, the mother of the cute 5-year-old Mei. She and her nice-guy husband Tadahiko (Koji Seto) dote on the girl, but when Yoshie goes shopping for snacks while Mei and her friends play hide-and-seek in the house, she returns to every parent's nightmare. Her discovery of her daughter's body in a startling reveal is impossible to unsee. A year later, a still-traumatized Yoshie buys an old doll because it resembles Mei. That night, Tadahiko is surprised to see the doll sitting at the dinner table and Yoshie talking to it as if it were alive. He plays along, more so after a therapist tells him Yoshie's 'adoption' of the doll may speed her recovery. Then Yoshie gives birth to a baby girl. Flash forward five years: The girl, Mai, takes an interest in the now forgotten — and very conscious — doll and they are soon fast friends. But the doll, jealous of the attention the couple lavishes on Mai, is out for payback. In shifting from the psychodrama of a mother maddened by grief and guilt to out-and-out horror as the couple struggles to rid themselves of the doll from hell, the film risks losing its bearings and descending into self-parody. But Yaguchi keeps the story anchored in a semblance of real-world logic, while ratcheting up the supernatural scares and solving the puzzle of the doll's origin. The doll doesn't walk and talk like the menacing eponymous character of the American 2022 shocker 'M3gan,' who had the excuse of being an AI-powered robot. But it does evade Yoshie's frantic attempts to discard it, like trash that keeps implacably returning because it wasn't properly sorted. The couple finally calls on assistance, starting with a temple priest who declares that the doll is cursed and progressing to a doll expert (a grim-visaged Tetsushi Tanaka) who comes up with a bizarre plan for getting it out of their lives. By this point, merely tossing it won't work. From a Western perspective, the lengths to which the characters go to calm the doll's vengeful spirit may seem excessive or absurd. But in Japan, where the ritual disposal of dolls is a long-established practice, they make karmic sense. And though 'Dollhouse' concludes with twist after twist, to the point of exhaustion if not absurdity, its ending feels welcome and right. Whether or not that means the doll is gone for good, I'll leave for you to guess.
Sunday World
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Former ‘Kisses' child movie star Shane Curry stole €140 of toys and alcohol
At Kilrush District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett imposed the suspended prison term on Dublin native Shane Curry - now aged 30 A former child movie star has received a suspended one month prison term for a €140 theft of toys and alcohol from a Tesco outlet in the west of Ireland. At Kilrush District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett imposed the suspended prison term on Dublin native Shane Curry - now aged 30 - for the theft at Tesco, Ennis Rd, Kilrush on October 10th last. Shane Curry of Croi Na Mbaile, Kilmihil, Co. Clare was a film star at the age of 13, starring alongside Stephen Rea in the award-winning movie, Kisses, with the Los Angeles Times describing young Curry's performance at the time as "first rate". He also appeared as a guest on The Late Late Show and Curry subsequently starred in Dollhouse (2012) and Hideaways (2011). However, Curry's time in the acting world was short-lived and his life went off the rails due to taking drugs as a child. Mr Curry recently told Kilrush District Court in a separate case to the theft: 'I have been taking drugs since I was 10.' Asked why he started taking drugs by Judge Gabbett, Mr Curry said: 'Me ma died.' Judge Gabbett told him: 'You have never treated your anxiety and your other issues. You are coping with life by using drugs.' His solicitor, Patrick Moylan said: 'Mr Curry auditioned for a role in 'Love/Hate' with Barry Keoghan and unfortunately Mr Keoghan got the job and Mr Curry didn't.' Mr Moylan said that Mr Curry has remained almost entirely out of trouble since 2016. Judge Gabbett said to Mr Curry: 'You didn't have the good fortune on the addiction history I'd say?' Mr Curry told Judge Gabbett: 'The drugs are what ruined the acting career – I was due to go to America but I was taking drugs and got a conviction.' Sgt John Burke told the court: 'He had an absolute horrendous upbringing.' Sgt Burke of Ennis Garda Station told the court: 'Mr Curry is from Crumlin and I started with the Gardai in Crumlin in 2009 and I recall him very well.' "Mr Curry and two other young fellas used to be getting in trouble a lot and of the three of them he was most pleasant to deal with. 'What stands out about Mr Curry is that he starred in a movie as a child called 'Kisses' which is on RTE every Christmas.' The court previously heard that Mr Curry lost his grandmother and mother within months of each other in 2006 and Mr Curry's aunt took him in and relocated to the west Clare village of Kilmihil a number of years ago in order to protect Curry and his siblings. Mr Curry fell into trouble within a couple of years of promoting Kisses when he received probation at Smithfield Children's Court in April 2011 for handling stolen property in April 2010.
Irish Daily Mirror
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish former child film star handed suspended jail sentence for €140 Tesco theft
A former child movie star has received a suspended one-month prison term for a €140 theft of toys and alcohol from a Tesco outlet in the west of Ireland. At Kilrush District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett imposed the suspended prison term on Dublin native Shane Curry - now aged 30 - for the theft at Tesco, Ennis Rd, Kilrush on October 10 last. Curry, of Croí Na Mbaile, Kilmihil, Co. Clare, was a film star at the age of 13, starring alongside Stephen Rea in the award-winning movie, Kisses, with the Los Angeles Times describing young Curry's performance at the time as "first rate". He also appeared as a guest on The Late Late Show and subsequently starred in Hideaways (2011) and Dollhouse (2012). However, Curry's time in the acting world was short-lived and his life went off the rails due to taking drugs as a child. Mr Curry recently told Kilrush District Court in a separate case to the theft: 'I have been taking drugs since I was 10.' Asked why he started taking drugs by Judge Gabbett, Mr Curry said: 'Me ma died.' Judge Gabbett told him: 'You have never treated your anxiety and your other issues. You are coping with life by using drugs.' His solicitor, Patrick Moylan, said: 'Mr Curry auditioned for a role in Love/Hate with Barry Keoghan and unfortunately Mr Keoghan got the job and Mr Curry didn't.' Mr Moylan said that Mr Curry has remained almost entirely out of trouble since 2016. Judge Gabbett said to Mr Curry: 'You didn't have the good fortune on the addiction history I'd say?' Mr Curry told Judge Gabbett: 'The drugs are what ruined the acting career - I was due to go to America but I was taking drugs and got a conviction.' Sergeant John Burke told the court: 'He had an absolute horrendous upbringing.' Sergeant Burke, of Ennis Garda Station, told the court: 'Mr Curry is from Crumlin and I started with the Gardaí in Crumlin in 2009 and I recall him very well. "Mr Curry and two other young fellas used to be getting in trouble a lot and of the three of them, he was most pleasant to deal with. 'What stands out about Mr Curry is that he starred in a movie as a child called Kisses, which is on RTÉ every Christmas.' The court previously heard that Mr Curry lost his grandmother and mother within months of each other in 2006 and Mr Curry's aunt took him in and relocated to the west Clare village of Kilmihil a number of years ago in order to protect Curry and his siblings. Mr Curry fell into trouble within a couple of years of promoting Kisses when he received probation at Smithfield Children's Court in April 2011 for handling stolen property in April 2010.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Survivor's [Spoiler] Reveals Heated Tribal Council Moment We Didn't See on TV: ‘At One Point, He Was Yelling at Me and…'
48 The gloves are finally off. More from TVLine Abbott Elementary EPs Talk Season 4's 'Breather' Finale, Janine and Gregory's Latest Relationship Milestone Missed Will Trent's General Hospital Homage? Watch It Here and Find Out What Inspired the 'Crossover' WATCH: Dichen Lachman Revisits Early Severance Days, Talks Gemma vs. Helly and Dollhouse Comparisons In Wednesday's Survivor, cracks began to form in the 'Strong 5' alliance after David aimed to target Kamilla, despite Joe and Kyle's arguments against it. Kyle put his game on the line trying to protect his secret No. 1, which raised more than a few red flags among his alliance. But by the time Tribal Council hit, Chrissy grew very vocal about not wanting the 'Strong 5' to run the game. She pleaded with those on the bottom to band together and not hand the game over to David, Joe, Eva, Kyle and Shauhin, but her pleas fell on deaf ears and she was unanimously voted out. Below, Chrissy details an unseen conversation with David and reveals that their back-and-forth at Tribal Council was much more heated in person. TVLINE | You were very vocal at Tribal Council against this 'strong five' alliance. But with Mary closely aligned with David and Star without a vote, do you have any regrets on anything you said or maybe the timing of it all?CHRISSY SARNOWSKY | I mean, yes and no. Obviously I could have kept my mouth shut and just let them choose who they wanted to go home, but it was quite obvious that they had this strong alliance and they were just gonna pick off the people at the bottom. They don't show a lot, but at night when we would go to sleep, we had two fire pits. All the strong people were in the one fire pit and all us little minions were in the other. They had this roaring fire and we had little kindle. And this is after two weeks of not eating and I'm just watching this go on. As the person I am, I just cannot sit back and just let them do that. If it got me voted out, it got me voted out, but I just wasn't gonna sit and wait until they thought it was Chrissy's time. TVLINE | Were you aware that Kamilla's name was being thrown around so much? [Shakes her head no.] As I was watching it, I'm like, 'Why didn't David come and tell me that?' Kyle told Kamilla, so she had a fighting chance at Tribal to sort of play it out for herself. I didn't know that. I thought it was me all day long, so I was just like, 'F–k it, I'm gonna just go out throwing all their names out there.' If I would have known that I had a little bit of a chance, I would have definitely pulled it back and tried to answer my questions a little differently. TVLINE | David seemed to get riled up as you were speaking your truth. At one point he said you were 'up in arms' about it, but you seemed pretty cool, calm and collected to me! What was your take on David's reaction and responses there?They don't show it, [but] at one point he was yelling at me and I turned around and I said, 'Who are you yelling at?' Like he was literally raising his voice at me, which is very unlike David, being with him the first seven days. He's the most gentlemanly, the most caring, and especially with females. So the fact that he was yelling at me at Tribal… that was another thing because David was the key to what I thought was going on. I thought we had five Civa. As Mitch was trying to tell them, we could have ran that vote if the five Civa would have stuck together just for that one vote, and then if we want to go our separate ways, fine. But once David started yelling at me, I was like, 'Alright, this five Civa is not gonna play!' [Laughs] TVLINE | Yeah, we saw Mitch try to get the former Civas together to vote a Lagi out. Could that have ever worked? Was there any chance in hell?No, David was the key. I think Kamilla and Kyle, what I thought at least, would have went either way, whatever way would have benefited them the most. So if we definitely could have gotten David on board, it would have made their choice easier. But with David being so wishy-washy and not really committing to — well, he was committing. He was committing to the strong [five], obviously — so that made Kyle and Kamilla have to go that way too. They don't show it, but I bawled. I don't cry and I bawled my eyes out with David. I was just trying to plead with him like, 'This is what you're here for, to win a million dollars, and you have a better chance with us than going that way.' I could see he was torn in his eyes, but I knew he had left me. TVLINE | Were you at all aware that Kyle and Kamilla were working that closely together?I was surprised to see how close [they were], and it's so funny 'cause it's right in my face. I should have been able to catch that and I didn't. I think I was just so happy. Night 1, I was almost like Andy from last season in my own head. I'm like, 'Nobody likes me.' I got super paranoid. And Day 2, Kamilla said to me, 'What do you think about the four of us working together?' Just her telling me that really gave me a sense of comfort, just for a couple of days at least. But not noticing that those two… they played it off well. They were very incognito. They're doing a great job. Kyle shocked me in this last one, throwing my name out there. It's so, so funny. But I texted him and I'm like, 'I love you and you're playing a great game,' so there are no hard feelings on that whatsoever. TVLINE | After where she revealed her autism to the group, were people afraid to vote for her or target them after that? Why weren't they a bigger target out there?At the time, we didn't discuss it, really. It was sort of taboo. It happened and, to me, that was a non-issue. She's a strong player. Forget the autism part, just look at her as a person. She's 23, she's a beast, she's got the best alliance with Joe and it was quite obvious the whole time. I mean, you see it on TV. It's so funny because good friends of mine are texting me saying, 'I love Eva and Joe!' And I go, 'You realize I have to beat them to get the million dollars.' Even my friends want them to win, so that's what I was up against! I was up against a great couple that were unbreakable and you saw it. I was trying to go after them, but they were just too bonded. And this whole honesty crap that they're talking about is like, yeah, they're honest to each other, but you're not gonna be honest to everybody else. TVLINE | I think it was David who mentioned at Tribal that oftentimes the strong athletic types are the big targets at the merge and maybe you were on the wrong and I was! [Laughs] When I was going out there, I'm like, 'You know, I'm 55, but I'm pretty athletic. I'll be decent at challenges.' And then I saw David and Joe and Eva and Kyle, and I was like, 'Oh, man. OK, switch that. You're not going to be good at challenges.' [Laughs] TVLINE | Had you thought about who you wanted to sit at the end with, had you made it there?Well, at the time, no, but I did know that Joe and Eva, they're doing each other a disservice. Only one person can win that million dollars. You two are playing the same exact game. That's what I was trying to tell them. How do I differentiate between you two when you're playing the same game, in my eyes. One of you has to make a move, and they were like, 'No, we don't.' And I'm like, 'Well, alright then, I want to sit next to you two, because if you're playing the same game, then that third person obviously has more of a highlight in my eyes. TVLINE | Is there anything we didn't see on TV that you feel viewers should know?There was a lot more conversations. Like me crying with David. I thought that was good, trying to convince him to come with us. And just the arrogance of the strong people. We were all going and sneaking off, and they were just sitting right there talking strategy! They didn't have to go hide. Everybody knew they were playing together. I'm like, 'What the hell is this?' It was very frustrating. Survivor 50 Dream Cast: 20 Players We Want to See Back on the Island View List Best of TVLine Yellowjackets' Tawny Cypress Talks Episode 4's Tai/Van Reunion: 'We're All Worried About Taissa' Vampire Diaries Turns 10: How Real-Life Plot Twists Shaped Everything From the Love Triangle to the Final Death Vampire Diaries' Biggest Twists Revisited (and Explained)
Euronews
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Japanese cinema wins big at Portugal's Fantasporto film awards
'Dollhouse', presented at the world premiere, was the winner of the fantastic cinema competition at the Porto festival and promises to become a "J-horror" classic. ADVERTISEMENT Since the Annabelle doll became an instantly recognisable icon in the horror universe just over 10 years ago, the myth of the doll that comes to life (as old as cinematic horror itself) has come back into fashion. With Dollhouse, by Japanese director Shinobu Yaguchi, the big winner at this year's Fantasporto, which ended its 45th edition on Saturday in Porto, this myth makes its grand entrance into the J-horror universe. The film is produced by the giant Toho and had its world premiere here, bringing a team of more than 20 people to Porto and receiving a standing ovation of more than 10 minutes. A couple lose their five-year-old daughter in a domestic accident and decide to buy a lifelike doll to help make up for the dead girl's absence. Forgotten for years after the couple have a second daughter, the doll is rediscovered by the family's new daughter, who ends up establishing an unhealthy relationship with it. Dollhouse ends up fitting into all the canons of classic horror and, in the decision of the jury for the fantastic cinema competition, it beat out bolder productions such as Prédio Vazio, the new blood orgy by Brazilian Rodrigo Aragão (who the festival organisers consider to be the main successor to José Mojica Marins as the master of Brazilian horror) or the American Succubus (RJ Daniel Hanna), a modern tale about addiction to social networks and online contacts. According to the jury notes, Dollhouse is "remarkably realised, offering a poignant and unforgettable exploration of human vulnerability". Trailer for 'Dollhouse' It's true that the Porto festival has been establishing itself as a showcase for Asian cinema, particularly Japanese, in Europe. With three Japanese winners in the last five editions, is Fantasporto becoming too centred on the Land of the Rising Sun? Beatriz Pacheco Pereira, founder and director of the festival, says: "We don't prioritise Japanese films, in fact we have as many Japanese films as European ones in competition. The truth is that Japanese production has been very strong in recent years, particularly in the field of fantastic cinema, and it's normal for this to be reflected in the awards." Mário Dorminsky, who together with Beatriz Pacheco Pereira has been running the festival since it was founded in 1981, adds that the prominence that the festival gives to Japanese cinema is also reflected in the prestige that Fantsasporto has achieved in Japan, where it is referred to as "one of the world's three main festivals in the field of the fantastic, alongside Sitges and Brussels". Beatriz Pacheco Pereira and Mário Dorminsky have been running Fantasporto film festival together since 1981 Ricardo Figueira/Euronews Cielo is not the limit If Dollhouse took the top prize, the other big winner was Cielo, a British production directed by Spaniard Alberto Sciamma and shot entirely in Bolivia. With "fabulous cinematography and an intentional and striking palette, enriched by the arid landscape of Bolivia", in the words of the jury, the film wowed both the public and the judges with its visual component, winning the Special Jury Prize, the Best Cinematography Award and the Audience Award. "This film stands out as one of the most original and mesmerising fantasy films of recent years," adds the jury. Trailer for 'Cielo' "The film was born out of two mental images," director Alberto Sciamma tells Euronews Culture. "In those images, I saw a little girl swallowing a fish and pushing a pram with her mother's body through the desert. I didn't have any storyline. I only began to imagine the story when I travelled to Bolivia in the company of producer John Dunton-Downer and pianist Ana-Maria Vera, who convinced me to shoot in Bolivia. The film owes a lot to the entire Bolivian team, especially the young actress, just eight years old, Fernanda Gutierrez Aranda. The entire technical team and actors, with the exception of myself, the producers and the director of photography, were hired in Bolivia, and their work was excellent and decisive for the final result of the film," adds the director. Alberto Sciamma Ricardo Figueira / Euronews Happiness index If all humans were obliged to have a happiness index of between 0 and 99 printed on their necks, as stated in the premise of the Hungarian short Happy People, winner of the award for best short film in fantastic cinema; what would be the index if you were market shopping in Budapest on a Saturday morning and received word of the prize and had to go to Porto the same evening to collect it? Balázs Budavári and Angéla Eke Ricardo Figueira/Euronews "It corresponds to an index of 98," say the couple formed by director Balázs Budavári and actress Angéla Eke. "The only reason it's not 99 is because the rest of the team couldn't be there," they say. The couple, who are preparing their first feature, chose Porto for the world premiere of the short. Portuguese cinema with opening honours Although he doesn't participate as a screenwriter or filmmaker, Luís Diogo is always present at Fantasporto, at least as a spectator each year. His previous film, A Sublime Life, became the most awarded Portuguese film ever. As a regular, it's not surprising that the organisation invited Luís Diogo to open the festival with his latest film, Criadores de Ídolos (Idol Makers), which featured in both the fantastic cinema competition and the Portuguese cinema competition, where it eventually won the best film honour. Luís Diogo Ricardo Figueira/Euronews The film is based on one of the many ideas that Luís Diogo comes up with: what if a secret society was murdering celebrities all over the world in order to make them universal idols and thus perpetuate the concept of the idol created by Socrates? Sofia is recruited into this secret society by her father and grandfather. Her mission is to assassinate a famous singer, whose brother she ends up getting involved with. Will she be able to carry out this macabre mission? Trailer for 'Criadores de Ídolos' Idol Makers is already guaranteed distribution in Portugal next autumn. However, Luís Diogo admites that he is not a fan of Portuguese cinema and that he doesn't write his films with the intention of making them in Portugal: "I always write a script first that can be filmed in the United States," he says. "Then I end up adapting them to the Portuguese reality." ADVERTISEMENT Still on the subject of Portuguese participation, it's worth highlighting the presence of another Fantasporto regular, José Pedro Lopes(A Floresta das Almas Perdidas) in the Luso-Brazilian collection Histórias Estranhas 2, presented out of competition, in which he is the only Portuguese participant, among six Brazilian filmmakers, including the aforementioned Rodrigo Aragão, who is also a regular at Fantas, and, entering this edition in double doses. "I started coming here as a teenager, as a spectator," José Pedro Lopes tells Euronews Culture. "So it's only natural that it's a great pleasure to come here as a filmmaker." It was at the festival that José Pedro Lopes met the organiser of the collection, Ricardo Ghiorzi. Trailer for 'Histórias Estranhas 2' Directors' Week and Orient Express Alongside the fantastic cinema section, Fantasporto also celebrates auteur cinema of all genres with the Directors' Week. While, as in the fantastic competition, Japanese cinema was in the spotlight, winning four of the six prizes on offer, the main prize in this section went to Zero (USA) by Jean-Luc Herbulot. Trailer for 'Zero' The first prize in the Orient Express section, dedicated to Asian cinema, once again went to a Japanese film, this time to River Returns, by Masakasu Kaneko. Trailer for 'River Returns' So it's sayonara from Fantasporto and see you in 2026. Check out the video below for some of the best moments from this year's edition. ADVERTISEMENT
