Latest news with #GiancarloEsposito
Geek Feed
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Feed
X-Men: Bryan Cranston Allegedly Eyed to be the New Charles Xavier
Rumors were flying around that Marvel may have wanted a POC to play the part of the new Charlie Xavier for the MCU, but it's possible they could be sticking to keeping him Caucasian. According to @MyTimeToShineH, Marvel is allegedly looking at Bryan Cranston ( Breaking Bad ) to be the new leader of the X-Men. We already know he can play the bald look, but it's curious exactly what kind of Xavier he can deliver, seeing that he can either be ridiculously evil or all-around goofy. Admittedly, we have to take this news with a grain of salt, seeing that MTTSH has had missteps in the past, but they've also reported some true things as well. Personally, I was in the camp that wanted to revamp the origins of Professor X and Magneto so that they better exemplified more recent issues on discrimination. A popular fancast was for Giancarlo Esposito (surprisingly also in Breaking Bad ) to be Xavier and Denzel Washington to be the new Magneto—with Magneto's origin of being a holocaust survivor being switched to him surviving another kind of race war. There are some who think that changing Magneto's origin is a delicate matter, but there are some who believe that, to stay relevant, his origin could be changed so that the core issue is still discrimination—which was also at the heart of his holocaust survivor story. I mean, if they wanted Magneto to be alive around that time, he would have to be incredibly old in the 2020s; and you can only go so far with the 'his powers stop his aging' or 'he's a time-traveller' storyline. Then again, I am just spit-balling here. For now, we have no idea when the proper X-Men reboot is going to be, but fans are expecting it after the events of Avengers: Secret Wars which comes out in 2027.
Geek Girl Authority
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
On Location: The Armour-Stiner Octagon House on POKER FACE
Welcome to On Location , a weekly feature spotlighting landmarks and establishments seen on screen that viewers can visit IRL. Whether you're seeking a fun selfie, breathtaking vistas, or maybe a show-accurate treat, follow along for some bucket list destinations. RELATED: End the school year with the best educators around at the Please Touch Museum and the students of Abbot Elementary Peacock's Poker Face is known for its great guest stars. But in Charlie Cale's (Natasha Lyonne) frantic and random efforts to flee from the mobster goons pursuing her also bring her to some unique and unusual locations. On Poker Face Season 2 Episode 2, 'Last Looks,' she lands in the middle of a film production set up on location at the fictional Finch & Sons Funeral Home. In reality, they shot the film-within-the-show at The Armour-Stiner Octagon House in Irvington, NY. Disclaimer: The following article contains plot spoilers for Poker Face Season 2 Episode 2, 'Last Looks,' which dropped on May 8 on Peacock as part of the three-episode premiere event. If you haven't watched it yet, you may want to stop here. Image credit: Courtesy of Peacock TV The Armour-Stiner Octagon House on Peacock's Poker Face Nearly the entirety of 'Last Looks' takes place in and around the Finch & Sons Funeral Home. 'Family owned since 1925,' the building houses both the business and Fred (Giancarlo Esposito) and Greta Finch's (Katie Holmes) residence. In the context of the episode, Greta has arranged for a film crew to shoot an existential multi-verse murder movie inside the funeral home. Later, Fred kills Greta, cremates her, and presses her ashes into an LP record. Talk about a one-stop shop. RELATED: Read our recap of Poker Face , 'Last Looks' Based on the virtual tour of the IRL rooms inside the Armour-Stiner Octagon House, the Finch & Sons Funeral Home interior shots were all shot in a studio set. This makes a lot of sense, as the Armour-Stiner Octagon House is still an active residence today. It also looks like the Poker Face production made temporary changes to some of the house's more showy exterior colors. For example, the deep red pillars around the veranda are a more muted gray on-screen. Again, since the house was playing a funeral home, the aesthetic changes made sense. Image credit: Courtesy of Peacock TV 'Subvert Normality' Built in 1859-60 by financier Paul J. Armour, the original structure was inspired by the designs of Orson Squire Fowler, who made octagon houses a real construction trend in the latter half of the 19th century. These houses were invariably two-storey structures with a flat roofline and a full basement that extended five feet above ground level. RELATED: Poker Face Season 2: Our 6 Dream Guest Stars In 1872, Joseph H. Stiner, a New York City tea merchant, purchased the house as a holiday retreat. He made significant changes to both the interior and exterior look of the house. Most notably, Stiner added the two-storey dome, echoing the domed colonnade look of a Roman temple. He also added the veranda around the house, extending the house's geographic footprint. Image Credit: In 1975, after living in the aging home for thirty years, owners Carl and Betty Carmer sold the house to the National Trust for Historic Preservation for less than market value. Knowing that developers would tear it down, but recognizing that they did not have the resources to save it themselves, the Carmers hoped listing the house on the National Register of Historic Places would save and somehow preserve it. The next year, the Trust listed the house to be sold back into private ownership under strict conditions, outlining a timeline for repair and restoration, as well as an agreement to maintain and preserve the historic boundaries of the property and the house's exterior. Joseph Pell Lombardi to the Rescue Joseph Pell Lombardi rose to the occasion, proposing an innovative technique to keep the dome from collapsing by returning it to its original position and then installing a tension ring to secure it. In 1978, Lombardi and his wife, Nan, finalized the contract of sale. RELATED: Poker Face Season 2: Geraldine Viswanathan Among Three New Cast Members It's been nearly 50 years since the work began to restore The Armour-Stiner Octagon House to its 1870s glory. Lombardi and his family have worked with a team of expert consultants, and to date, the structure has been stabilized, the exterior returned to the flamboyant colors of the Stiner era, and most interior rooms restored with original furniture pieces and wall treatments. The final stage is to complete the restoration of the basement rooms to their original look and function. Getting Your Foot in the Door The Armour-Stiner Octagon House is open for ticketed, guided tours. The tours are seasonally themed, and it's highly recommended you book before visiting. All proceeds from tour ticket sales and the gift shop fund the house's restoration work. Before its appearance in Poker Face , The Armour-Stiner Octagon House featured in the 1981 horror movie, The Nesting. In the 2007 Beatles jukebox musical, Across the Universe , the house's exterior is glimpsed as part of the 'Magical Mystery Tour.' RELATED: Read our Poker Face recaps Poker Face drops new episodes every Thursday on Peacock. New TV Shows This Week (May 11 – 17) Diana lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where she invests her time and energy in teaching, writing, parenting, and indulging her love of all Trek and a myriad of other fandoms. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. You can also find her writing at The Televixen, Women at Warp, TV Fanatic, and TV Goodness.
Geek Girl Authority
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
POKER FACE Recap: (S02E02) Last Looks
Poker Face Season 2 Episode 2, 'Last Looks,' is a delightfully deadly outing that maintains a steady clip until those final high-octane moments. Charlie is almost burned alive! Beatrix Hasp finds her! It's not looking good for our girl, but she's resourceful. Charlie Cale is like a cockroach — not even the apocalypse can kill her. RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Poker Face episode, 'The Game Is a Foot' Poker Face, 'Last Looks' We open with a film cast and crew shooting a 1970s-era movie at a funeral home. In this particular scene, a young woman snaps photos of the older couple who own the establishment, catching them in the act of dabbling in under-the-table business. The wife and husband get into it, culminating in the latter bashing the former's head in with a fire poker. Blood splatters on the wall. The director orders them to reset the scene for another take. As the crew resets, Paige (Sherry Cola), one of said crew, asks a woman, Greta (Katie Holmes), if she's part of the shoot. Greta admits she's not, but they're using the funeral home her husband owns. Downstairs, Fred (Giancarlo Esposito) works dutifully on a corpse, preparing her for a service. Two PAs venture down into Fred's workspace to chat about the film, but Fred shoos them away. All That Remains Next, Fred heads upstairs to complain about the crew. He overhears incorrect terminology in the scene as the camera rolls for another take. They're not ashes; they're human remains, people. Fred makes the crew promise to leave his establishment better than they found it. After all, this shoot is disrupting business. RELATED: Poker Face Season 2: Our 6 Dream Guest Stars Fred pulls his wife aside to vent his frustrations. He reminds Greta that having the crew film in their funeral home was her idea. Greta's taken in by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, though. She fires back that they're getting money out of this. Business has been slow, and this cash bump will certainly inject new life (hee-hee) into it. Outside, Fred runs into the Hoppenstammer family, who believe the service for the grandmother he fixed up is scheduled for that day. Fred apologizes profusely to Mr. and Mrs. Hoppenstammer (Fabian Alomar and Kathrine Narducci), explaining that he plans to host said service the following day. Greta was supposed to inform them of the rescheduling. Heading for Divorce Inside, Fred scolds Greta for her mistake. He asserts that this is his life's work — his family business. They can't afford to screw up. Greta reveals she wants a divorce. A crew member told her she could get work doing makeup in Miami. RELATED: Russian Doll Season 2 Thoughtfully Explores Motherhood and Trauma As for buying out her share of the funeral home, she has someone in mind who could scoop up the whole shebang and set up Fred for the rest of his life. Greta's tired of feeling trapped in a death house, and Fred must feel the same way. Fred pivots, suggesting they have a baby. That'll subvert the day-to-day formula for them. Greta's insistent on that divorce, though. She needs a fresh start. Greta refuses to continue talking things through. She leaves Fred with his thoughts. He asks a crew member when they're leaving. We learn they have a hard out at 7 am the following morning, when they'll break down the set and clean the funeral home. Life Imitates Art That night, Greta stumbles into the house, inebriated. She's still hellbent on leaving for Miami. While upstairs, she sends Fred a pic of her packed bags. We hear Greta singing 'Ring My Bell' to herself in the shower. Fred grabs her bags and moves them to where the film crew shot that scene. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Mabel Mora Greta searches for her bags upon getting out of the shower. When she finds them, though, Fred kills her by smacking her in the head with a fire poker. We see her blood splatter on the wall, but it's in the same spot as the fake blood. RIP, Miami Mama. Now, it's time for the cleanup. Fred uses a metal detector while searching her luggage. He disposes of her toothbrush. He cremates her body. Then, Fred puts some of Greta's remains in the urn for the film scene. The rest? He presses into a vinyl record: 'Sleepwalk' by Santo & Johnny. The following morning, the crew packs everything up. On Beach Time Then, we check in with Charlie (Natasha Lyonne), who's lounging on the beach. She regales a child with tales of her life, from experiencing peacefulness after not having heard from Beatrix Hasp or the five families in a few months to vaping in lieu of cigarettes. Charlie leaves to get batteries for her vape, making a beeline for Publix. RELATED: Read our Russian Doll recaps There, she runs into Tommy (Kevin Corrigan), who asks her if a local film crew can use her precious car for their 1970s-set movie. He'll pay her in cash. Once on set at Fred and Greta's funeral home, a crew member asks Charlie if she'd like to play the corpse in the coffin during the scene we saw at the beginning of the episode. It pays. I love it when Charlie winds up being in the opening of an episode or tangentially tied to a murder scene. POKER FACE — Season 2 Episode 2, 'Last Looks' — Pictured: (l-r) Sherry Cola, Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, Katie Holmes — (Photo by: Sarah Shatz/PEACOCK) Next, Charlie vapes in the casket during the take. The director asks for a reset as the power flickers off and on. Fred's probably fuming right about now. After this, Charlie meets Greta, who's chatting with other crew members about applying corpse makeup. Well, actually, it's paint. She expresses interest in moving to Miami to pursue a career as an on set makeup artist. One person vows to hook her up with work. The gang decides to go out for drinks after they wrap for the day. Sleepwalk Later, Charlie meets Fred, who tells her all about the specialty (and quite niche) products they offer the bereaved, from putting remains in vinyl records (poor Greta) to putting them in mugs and picture frames. Fred is nothing if not entrepreneurial. RELATED: The Best True Crime Shows on Netflix That night, the crew, along with Charlie, Greta and Tommy, have drinks on the beach. Greta lets loose. She vents about Fred and how controlling he is. He's already picked out their death song for the record she'll undoubtedly be pressed into: 'Sleepwalk.' We're familiar with the tune. Greta gives Tommy her number. At one point, she and Charlie are belting out their rendition of 'Ring My Bell.' Once Charlie pulls into the parking lot of the funeral home, Greta begs Charlie to whisk her away to Miami. They can leave together the next morning. Charlie promises to join her on this journey. Of course, we know what happens to Greta after this scene. She's Gone The next morning, Charlie waltzes into the funeral home. She asks Fred about Greta. Greta hasn't answered her calls or texts. An emotional Fred tells her that Greta left him. She's gone. Well, technically, he's not lying. He believes Greta left with the film crew, which part of her did. Not a lie. RELATED: Read our Only Murders in the Building recaps Charlie ventures outside, where she hears 'Sleepwalk.' Weird. She spies Fred dancing to it by himself in his office. She recalls what Greta told her about the tune. After this, Charlie returns for the funeral service for Granny Hoppenstammer. Charlie offers her condolences to Mr. and Mrs. Hoppenstammer while asking Fred again about Greta. Fred is visibly annoyed. He insists that Greta is with the film crew at their next shoot location. So, Charlie moseys on over there. She reunites with Tommy. Tommy hasn't heard from Greta, nor has Paige. They check with others on set, who convey the same thing. Tommy reveals Greta sent him a string of drunken texts the night before. However, she hasn't responded to his 'Good morning' text. Tommy offers to accompany Charlie back to the funeral home for some good ole-fashioned snooping. The Truth Fred hears their arrival, and we see he's playing with Greta's phone. He conceals it in his desk drawer. Tommy and Charlie search the building for clues as to what might have happened to Greta. Charlie doesn't believe she left of her own volition. Fred searches the viewing room, so Charlie hops into a coffin. She spies a light bulb above her with blood on it. She tries to grab it but slips and falls. Fred sees her. RELATED: Top 11 Peter Bogdanovich Films Charlie goes into interrogation mode. She asks Fred about the bloody light bulb. She tells him that she played a corpse the day before, and the crew used a white sheet over the bulbs to ensure they wouldn't get fake blood on them. Ergo, the blood on said bulb appeared after the crew wrapped and cleaned up. She's right. Suddenly, Tommy arrives, informing Charlie that Greta texted him back. He shows Charlie a photo of Greta in Miami. She traveled there overnight. After Tommy departs, Fred bursts into tears. Charlie comforts him and apologizes for wrongfully accusing him of murdering his wife. POKER FACE — Season 2 Episode 2, 'Last Looks' — Pictured: (l-r) Giancarlo Esposito, Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale — (Photo by: Sarah Shatz/PEACOCK) Ring My Bell After this, Charlie has tea with Fred. He reveals how far back this funeral home goes in his lineage. Also, he has family member remains in just about every object in his office, including the mug from which Charlie drinks. Yummy. RELATED: Movie Review: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Before Charlie leaves, she uses the restroom. There, she hears 'Ring My Bell' playing. It's Greta's ringtone. She follows it to Fred's desk drawer. Charlie pulls out Greta's phone and successfully unlocks it. She finds the photo Greta supposedly sent Tommy in Greta's gallery. It's from 2022. Uh-oh. Suddenly, Fred knocks Charlie unconscious. She wakes up in a wooden coffin. We're made to believe she was buried alive in the nearby cemetery, but Fred is about to cremate her. We see the coffin moving on the conveyor belt toward the flaming incinerator. Charlie bangs on the coffin, begging Fred to let her out. She vows to keep his secret. She won't tell a soul that he killed Greta. Burn It All Down Thankfully, Charlie rocks the coffin back and forth just enough so it falls off the conveyor belt. The coffin cracks open. Charlie scurries away as Fred chases her with a stabbing implement. RELATED: What's New on TV This Week (May 4 – 10) Mind you, the incinerator is still on full blast. Charlie chucks her vape into the flames, causing an explosion. We see jars of formaldehyde go boom due to the heat. The fire spreads throughout the funeral home. Charlie tries to help Fred escape. However, Fred is entranced by burning embers as they fall like snowflakes. He doesn't want to leave. Fred knows he's going to prison for murder, and this place is his life. He returns to his office, sitting at the desk while gazing at his father's portrait. Charlie escapes to her vehicle. Now without her vape, Charlie moves to light a cigarette. Suddenly, Beatrix (Rhea Perlman) appears behind Charlie. She presses a gun against Charlie's temple. I guess our girl couldn't remain hidden from the five families for long. RELATED: Read our Poker Face recaps Poker Face drops new episodes every Thursday on Peacock. KNIVES OUT 3 Reveals First Look of Benoit Blanc With Long Hair Contact: [email protected] What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events. Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet. Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium. Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
Telegraph
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Poker Face, season 2, review: Natasha Lyonne's crime caper remains rootin'-tootin' fun
Any TV show that lists Joseph the Gerbil and Daisy the Alligator in amongst Katie Holmes and Justin Theroux in its star-studded cast list is already a hit with me. But it is also telling – you don't get a call sheet that also contains Cynthia Erivo, Awkwafina and Giancarlo Esposito if your series is not seriously good… yet also doesn't take itself too seriously. At a time when premium TV is manacled to its own self-importance – worlds, mythologies, entire tectonic plates of subreddits and po-faced hypotheses— the best thing about Poker Face (Sky Max) is that it is rootin'-tootin' fun. The setup is simple – Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) knows when someone is lying. It is a superpower that, like all superpowers, turns out to be as much a burden as a boon, but Poker Face doesn't trouble itself too much with the metaphysics. Instead, it just barrels on from episode to episode, a broad comedy road trip that in season one took Charlie Cale from a name badge waitress at a Nevada casino, via the murder of her best friend, on to a life of crime-busting across America. It means that Charlie is perpetually on the run – in series one from an angry casino owner and now, in series two, from a rival owner called Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman). What's supposed to happen in a sophomore season is that we deep-dive into Charlie's backstory, maybe get a flashback episode to unpick her childhood trauma or meet her wacky parents. Poker Face doesn't do that and is all the better for it. Although series two takes us from an animal liberation operation at a police awards ceremony to a diabolical elementary school student's plot concerning the class pet (see, Gerbil), it is, at heart, a procedural, and if it's a long way from Law and Order in tone then it also recognises that familiarity breeds content. It's not a perfect procedural – armchair sleuths will become frustrated at the ease of solving some of the whodunits, particularly as the series goes on. But even though there's always a murder and a new small-town sign to tell you you're somewhere new each week, the format that TV jettisoned a few decades back feels, ironically, fresh and exciting. Yes, there is a statement vehicle (Charlie drives a battered Plymouth Barracuda from town to town, so no import tariffs there) and yes, the format allows for a host of knock-knock, look who it is guest stars. Creators Rian Johnson (Knives Out) and Tony Tost plainly love their movies, with everything from Neo-noir to Smokey and the Bandit on their playlist. Columbo (a known Johnson fave) is probably the most obvious lodestar. This is a series that surfs on vibes and iconography. The danger is that those nods and winks get ahead of character and story, and the whole thing becomes a film-school love-in, but against that Poker Face has its procedural scaffolding and Lyonne in the lead. She is both funny and believable, bringing heart to Poker Face's smarts. Charlie is the series' lightning rod but in Lyonne's hands she is selfless and interested (rather than pulling cynically on a cigarette and telling the latest perp that she knows they're god-damned lying.) It is a winning combination – Johnson and Tost can throw in any new character (even Joseph the Gerbil and Daisy the Alligator) or locale and Charlie's ever-open mind holds it all together.
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Poker Face' Season 2 Release Schedule—When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) in Poker Face Season 2. After more than two years, Peacock's Emmy-winning original series Poker Face is back. The first three episodes of Season 2 are now streaming, but when will the rest be available on the platform? Keep reading for the full release schedule so you don't miss a second of the fan-favorite mystery drama. Natasha Lyonne returns to reprise her role as Charlie Cale, a woman who travels the country in her 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, stumbling into crime scenes and solving them with her unique ability to tell when other people are lying. The second season will feature 12 new mysteries, taking Cale to minor league baseball, funeral homes, alligator farms, a grade school talent show, and more. Series creator Rian Johnson told that 'every episode this season has its own vibe.' 'Some of them are hard comedy, some of them are very much drama. Some of them are darker. Some of them are lighter,' Johnson continued. "When those opening credits come up, just giving the audience something where they don't know what to expect with every episode, and they're genuinely delighted and was kind of the goal." Because Lyonne is the only main cast member, the show has become a hotspot for guest stars. The first season featured everyone from Adrian Brody and Nick Nolte to Stephanie Hsu and Ellen Barkin. Season 2 is shaping up to be even more star-studded, with confirmed appearances Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes, Cynthia Erivo, Margo Martindale, John Mulaney, Ego Nwodim. and more. Adrienne C. Moore and Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) appear on Poker Face Season 2. New episodes of Poker Face Season 2 will be released on Thursdays on Peacock. There are a total of 12 episodes in Season 2 of Poker Face. This is two more episodes than the 10-episode first season, which premiered in January 2023. The first three episodes of Poker Face dropped during the Season 2 premiere on May 8. The remaining nine episodes will come out on Thursdays until the second season's finale on July 10, 2025. Check out the full release schedule for Poker Face Season 2 below. Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) in Poker Face Season 2. To watch Poke Face Season 2, you'll need to sign up for a subscription to Peacock. The Premium Plan (with Ads) costs $7.99 per month, while Premium Plus (no ads) is $13.99 per month. The site is offering a promotion on its annual plan, where you can get 12 months for the price of 10 months. Students can also subscribe to the Premium plan for just $1.99 a year. Peacock is currently offering a seven-day free trial. You won't be charged during your free trial, and you can cancel online at anytime. However, the streaming service will renew automatically each month at the plan you select until it is canceled. Watch the official trailer for Poker Face Season 2 below.
