The most talked about movie of the year, Cocaine Bear might be the best-worst idea for a film we’ve ever heard. Nevertheless, people have been obsessed with it ever since it was announced.
As it turns out, that obsession may have been warranted as, according to Rotten Tomatoes, Cocaine Bear might actually be… good?
Now, we know there are a lot of ‘good-bad’ films within this prevailing sci-fi horror-comedy genre that so many people like to spend their free time watching: Sharknado, Zombeavers, Sharktopus; Piranhaconda, Sand Sharks, Arachnoquake, Dinoshark—basically, there’s usually a shark involved.
However, Cocaine Bear in particular has managed to capture the imagination of millions and while many might have been preparing to like this film for all the wrong reasons, now the reviews are in it seems as though people are just generally enjoying it for the “hilarious”, “outrageous”, “ridiculous” romp that it is.
Cocaine Bear is gory, fun as hell, packed with hilarious grotesque kills and over-the-top characters, and at 90-ish minutes, it’s paced near perfectly and never overstays its welcome or overdoses on the joke.
As well as some pretty good scores from outlets across the board, Cocaine Bear not only managed to debut as ‘certified fresh’ on Rotten Tomatoes but after the first batch of user reviews and even half a dozen critics, it actually landed a perfect score of 100%.
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Obviously, this wasn’t going to last forever and this thing isn’t Citizen Kane; it soon slipped down to 88% and now, after a little over a week since its release, it has ultimately levelled out at 74% in terms of audience score and a 69% on the official Tomatometer — because of course it had to be that number.
With a rather impressive cast behind it, including Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Alden Ehrenreich and even Ray Liotta’s final performance before his tragic passing, not to mention comedy veteran Elizabeth Banks’ third feature film as director, there was plenty of added appeal to grab a ticket.
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But perhaps one of the main selling points behind this crazy cocaine-fuelled comedy is that it’s actually based on a true story. Sort of…
That’s right, this unbelievable script is loosely inspired by the bizarre 1985 story of a 175lb black bear that stumbled across a sweet-smelling suspicious package in the woods after a smuggler’s shipment was dropped mid-flight as his plane ultimately crashed into a mountain in North Carolina.
The pilot himself was found dead in someone’s back garden in Knoxville, Texas after presumably jumping from the plane but as for the 70 pounds of cocaine — estimated to be worth around $15 million — they landed in a forest in Georgia where the bear just so happened to come across the drug-filled duffel bag.
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After apparently consuming around $2m worth of the contents, the animal was dubbed ‘Pablo Eskobear’ and his unbelievable tale went on to become a Hollywood movie script.
Safe to say, people were sold on it the second they heard the words ‘cocaine’ and ‘bear’ in the same sentence.
Do I have to see Paddington 1 and 2 to understand Cocaine Bear?
Full disclosure, this legend is in the film but he’s still got a point.
So, the question is, how accurate is this utterly batsh*t story? Well, not very, but by all accounts, it is a hilarious, action-packed depiction of an extremely unlikely situation.
The actual story of poor Pablo was that after ingesting seriously excessive amounts of cocaine, he sadly overdosed shortly after and did not go on to take part in a murderous rampage like in the movie.
When you strip back the undeniably comedic element behind this utterly nonsensical film, it’s actually quite a sad story that ended up claiming the life of an innocent animal.
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In fact, Banks herself said that despite seeing the obvious potential in the script, she said she felt sorry for the bear who wound up as “collateral damage in the crazy war on drugs” and wanted to tell a more “uplifting version of that story”. For her, the bear isn’t the villain: he’s the hero (at least in spirit, anyway).
Regardless of the vague air of controversy behind it, Cocaine Bear has gone on to become a box office hit, grossing over $38m worldwide in its first week alone, all through sheerly embracing its own ridiculousness.
The film is doing so well in fact that it’s spawned its own line of highly collectable Funko POP! bobbleheads and there’s already talk of sequels and spin-offs, with Banks reportedly more than willing to take on what many people have labelled as a spiritual successor in the making, ‘Cocaine Shark‘.
Two words: yes and yes.
‘Cocaine Bear’ director Elizabeth Banks says she would be interested in directing ‘COCAINE SHARK’ based on the recent true story.
You can now watch Barbie in IMAX for one week only at Manchester Printworks
Emily Sergeant
If you’ve somehow not had the chance to watch Barbie yet, then how does seeing the movie of the summer in IMAX sound?
You may have heard by now that Manchester’s Vue cinema at the Printworks is one of just 30 movie theatres around the world that’s been showing a special 70mm IMAX version of Christopher Nolan’s monumental biographical film Oppenheimer, and that’s about a big of a deal as it gets when it comes to cinematic events, to be fair.
But now, it’s Barbie’s turn for showing on the biggest screen of them all.
There’s absolutely no denying the genuine cultural phenomenon that was the ‘Barbenheimer’ opening weekend showdown back in July, but if it was the nuclear weapon epic you opted for the first time round, and you’ve still not yet found an opportunity to catch Greta Gerwig’s masterpiece, then now’s your chance.
You can now watch Barbie in IMAX for one week only in Manchester / Credit: Warner Bros.
As of today (22 September), Manchester’s largest city centre cinema inside Printworks is screening the Barbie movie in limited-edition IMAX for just one week only.
That’s not all either, as on top of enjoying Barbie in all its ultra-high-definition glory, and seeing Margot Robbie steal the show as she stars in the titular role, alongside Ryan Gosling as Ken, and a massive ensemble cast of some of Hollywood’s biggest names, fans will also be treated to some bonus post-credit footage during their screening too
All the bonus footage has been selected by director Greta Gerwig herself, so that only adds to this rare occasion worth making the most of.
Ian Harris, who is the General Manager at Vue Manchester Printworks, called the release of Barbie a “true cultural moment” that film fans will remember for a long time, and says this one-week special IMAX screening a way to honour that.
One of the IMAX screens at Vue Manchester Printworks / Credit: Vue
“There’s no denying the cultural significance of Greta Gerwig’s film, and we’re thrilled to be offering the chance to watch it in full IMAX,” Mr Harris said.
“The Barbie IMAX experience at Vue Manchester Printworks offers our customers the chance to enter the world of Barbie in a completely unrivalled way, using ear-tingling audio, super-sized screens, and breath-taking imagery.”
Samuel L. Jackson becomes latest Hollywood celeb to declare love for Bolton in new Warburtons ad
Emily Sergeant
Samuel L. Jackson has become the latest Hollywood celebrity to declare his love for Bolton as he stars in the new Warburtons TV advert.
Now, who the heck saw this coming? We’ll bet no one – and you’re likely lying if you claim you did.
The beloved Bolton-born bakery is absolutely no stranger to whipping up viral marketing campaigns featuring unexpected superstars, with acting titans George Clooney, Robert De Niro, and Sylvester Stallone having all fronted the company’s TV ads in the past.
And now, it seems to be Samuel L. Jackson’s turn, by the looks of things, as Warburtons has shared its latest commercial with the world this morning, and the legendary actor appears in the starring role.
The nation’s leading baked goods manufacturer says the new TV advert, which is titled Mad About The Bread, celebrates its “dedication” to making “the best quality loaf” of bread.
The ad opens in the company‘s home town of Bolton, with Samuel L. Jackson seen taking over Jonathan Warburton’s office dressed in the current chairman’s office attire of blue shirt and orange tie, before he turns to camera and delivers the opening line – “Hi, I’m Jonathan Warburton, chairman of the UK’s largest family bakery.”
What follows next can only be described as an unexpectedly-incredible montage of moments showing Samuel L. Jackson – sorry, we mean ‘Jonathan Warburton’ – going on a quest to prove to a doubting bread-lover why Warburtons‘ legendary Toastie loaf is the best there is on UK shop shelves.
Samuel L. Jackson is the star of the new Warburtons TV advert / Credit: Warburtons
‘Jonathan’ can be seen furiously-recalling the effort that goes into making the perfect Toastie loaf, that he emphatically declares is “packed full of the bakery’s unique blend of wheat and 147 years of baking expertise”, and is then shown testing the bread for “softness, butter-ability, and bounce-back-ability”, before he finally knocks the door down of Jonathan’s office, only to be met with the real Jonathan Warburton.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” the actual Warburton comments – and neither could we.
Samuel L. Jackson said it was “a pleasure” to star in the new advert and to meet “the man at the helm of Britain’s biggest family bakery”, adding that it was “an honour” to follow in the footsteps of other famous ‘Bolton alumni’.
“We had a lot of fun on set, so I hope people enjoy the finished product – the ad AND Toastie Loaf,” Samuel L. Jackson concluded.
The legendary actor is the latest in a long line of the company’s unbelieveable collaborations / Credit: Warburtons
Jonathan Warburton said the new ad is “a real celebration” of the company’s passion.
“Inviting the big-screen hero of Samuel L. Jackson into the business was a uniquely memorable experience,” he added of the new advert, “And we hope to bring some light-hearted humour to viewers at home.