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Review: A memorably horrific wedding night in 'Ready or Not'

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Review: A memorably horrific wedding night in 'Ready or Not'
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Review: A memorably horrific wedding night in 'Ready or Not'

2019-08-21 00:41 Last Updated At:00:50

Traditionally, weddings usually lead to some fun and games in the bedroom for the happy and exhausted couple. In the new horror-thriller "Ready or Not," that's definitely true — but the games aren't always fun.

Samara Weaving has a breakout performance as a new bride who tries to stay alive until dawn after her wedding day as her in-laws hunt her down and try to kill her. (Talk about an awkward brunch the next morning.) It's a well-plotted film that excellently mixes gore and humor while also offering some social commentary by torching the clueless rich.

Weaving plays Grace, a foster kid who yearns for family, who marries Alex Le Domas, the scion of a wealthy family that built its fortune on games. Whenever a new member tries to join the clan, they have a "weird family ritual" — they play a game. Sometimes it's checkers or Old Maid. Sometimes its hunt-down-the-newcomer.

This image provided by Fox Searchlight Pictures shows Kristian Bruun, from left, Melanie Scrofano, Andie MacDowell, Henry Czerny, Nicky Guadagni, Adam Brody and Elyse Levesque in the film “Ready or Not.” The film is about a bride who tries to stay alive until dawn on her wedding day as her in-laws hunt her down and try to kill her. (Eric ZachanowichFox Searchlight Pictures via AP)

This image provided by Fox Searchlight Pictures shows Kristian Bruun, from left, Melanie Scrofano, Andie MacDowell, Henry Czerny, Nicky Guadagni, Adam Brody and Elyse Levesque in the film “Ready or Not.” The film is about a bride who tries to stay alive until dawn on her wedding day as her in-laws hunt her down and try to kill her. (Eric ZachanowichFox Searchlight Pictures via AP)

This last possibility is not exactly well communicated by her betrothed, surely a candidate for Worst Groom Ever, played by Mark O'Brien. "It's not too late to flee, you know," he tells her. She replies, but without knowing the full consequences: "No, thank you. I'm all the way in." Grace then, unfortunately, picks the most dangerous game of all.

But this time, the Le Domas family has found a worthy challenger. Grace will not go quietly, ripping her wedding dress so she can be more mobile — a nod to Uma Thurman's angry bride in "Kill Bill" — ditching her heels for a pair of Converse high tops and fighting back. "This doesn't end well for you," she is warned.

"Ready or Not " has a script by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, who seem to have played many games of Clue, and is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, as well as executive produced by Chad Villella, the latter trio collectively known as Radio Silence.

The filmmakers have a fun time chasing the bride and an ever-exasperated family — which includes a deliciously nasty Andie MacDowell as well as Kristian Bruun, Melanie Scrofano, Henry Czerny, Nicky Guadagni, Adam Brody and Elyse Levesque — but they also have time for some digs at the hypocritical ultra-wealthy.

The poor Le Domas servants are the first to meet their demise, mowed down by accident by the drug- or drink-addled aristocrats. "Why does this always happen to me?" one rich in-law wails after her crossbow shoots an arrow into a maid's skull.

A portrait emerges of a family desperate to hold onto its exclusivity and privilege, even to the point of murder. "It's true what they say. The rich really are different," one of them explains. They may wear dinner jackets for dinner but they're truly savage.

Why is this family named Le Domas? Is it a subtle dig at The Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA? Is it perhaps an anagram for "Lame Dos"? Maybe it's a knock on European-loving Yanks? Could it be a crude schoolyard taunt? Who knows? We're never told. It remains an insider joke.

What gets wonderfully communicated is Grace's will and power. Weaving, the niece of Hugo Weaving ("Lord of the Rings," ''The Matrix"), has a comfort with horror — she's been in the series "Ash vs Evil Dead" and "The Babysitter" — but absolutely shines in this tricky role. She's vulnerable, deadpan funny, scared and resolute, turning a role that could have been one-dimensional into something vibrant and authentic.

Toward the end, she seems to draw on such wells of anger and fury that she makes haunting animal noises. If this actress — probably best known for a memorable turn in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" — often gets confused with Margot Robbie, a few more roles like this and that may end. She's murderously good.

"Ready or Not," a Fox Searchlight Pictures release, is rated R for "violence, bloody images, language throughout, and some drug use." Running time: 95 minutes. Three stars out of four.

MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Online: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/readyornot

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

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US envoy to UN visits Nagasaki A-bomb museum, pays tribute to victims

2024-04-19 20:20 Last Updated At:20:31

TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.

“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.

“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”

Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.

Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.

The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.

The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.

In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

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