‘Manodrome’ Review: Jesse Eisenberg Glowers His Way Through Reductive Look at Modern Masculinity

Marta Balaga The producers of Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films alike are on the lookout for the most cost-efficient locations. Recent examples include several of the year’s Oscar nominees, from “Aftersun,” which shot in Turkey; “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” which went to Budapest; to “Elvis,” in Australia. “Budapest offered an affordable alternative to both London and Paris,” says Jonathan Halperyn, managing director at Budapest-based Hero Squared and a co-producer on the film. “Hungary often comes up as a shooting destination when there is a budget crunch.” He adds: “We applied for co-production status and support from the National Film Institute of Hungary during the COVID hiatus, and by the end of 2020, we were up and running. This is the kind of flexibility we have become known for.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton are making sure to thank those who have helped raise money following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria last month.

Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer is leading a thriller for South African network M-Net.

Kerry Katona has shared a rare snap with her 14 year old son Max as they enjoyed some time together in Turkey - and fans can't get over how alike they look. Kerry, 42, who recently sparked a heated debate after revealing how often she changes her bed sheets, is currently enjoying a family holiday with her fiancé Ryan Mahoney, her sister Lynsey and the rest of her brood Lilly, 20, Heidi, 16, and DJ, eight.Taking to Instagram, the Atomic Kitten singer - also mum to 21 year old Molly who lives in Ireland - posted a sweet photo with Max and wrote alongside: "Me and my boy @maxkatona5," with three love heart emojis.

AJ Tracey has announced the launch of a limited edition t-shirt, with proceeds going to Turkey and Syria earthquake relief.The rapper shared a post on his social media, writing that all proceeds from sales would go to Islamic Relief. The charity is providing aid to those affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on February 6.“Special t-shirt drop to help with the aid in Türkiye and Syria,” he wrote on Twitter and Instagram.

Geordie Shore's Abbie Holborn is wheelchair-bound as she recovers from breast enlargement surgery.The 25 year old reality TV personality, who once partied with boxing icon Floyd Mayweather, recently made the trip over to Turkey to get the work done in secret, and since going under the knife, she's been instructed not to strain herself too much. In one Instagram Stories upload, Abbie can be seen being pushed around a shopping centre by her nan before grabbing a Starbucks together.

Turkey and Syria have been hit by two more huge earthquakes just two weeks after the border between the countries suffered its last devastating tremor.

Berlin Film Festival. At least not according to the co-chiefs of Turkey’s Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. “The festival’s opening ceremony started with Ukraine, ended with Ukraine and touched on Iran. But I don’t think they ever mentioned Turkey,” said Ahmet Boyacıoğlu, president of the fest that has historically always been the country’s prime local cinema catalyst.

Jesse Eisenberg and Adrien Brody suit up for the premiere of their new movie, Manodrome, during the 2023 Berlinale International Film Festival held at Berlinale Palast over the weekend in Germany.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Luc Besson’s ”Dogman,” starring Caleb Landry Jones, wowed buyers at the Berlin’s European Film Market, where it was screened for select buyers. “We hosted only one private screening of the completed film and buyers were stunned, they all came out saying that it was Luc Besson’s best film to date, his most mature movie and some even called it a masterpiece,” said Gregoire Melin, founder of Kinology, which is handling sales on the film. On the heels of the screening, Kinology closed deals with some of the biggest distributors in key international territories, including Italy (Lucky Red), Germany and Austria (Capelight Pictures), Spain and Latin America (Sun Distribution Group), Scandinavia (Svensk Filmindustri), Benelux (Belga Films), Switzerland (Elite Film), Middle East (Front Row), Poland (Monolith), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais), Czech Republic and Slovakia (AQS) and former Yugoslavia (Blitz).

EXCLUSIVE: Pig and Manodrome producer Ben Giladi is formally launching his production banner Liminal Content at this year’s Berlin Film Festival where Manodrome debuted in Competition.

Based on the synopsis alone, one would think John Trengove’s “Manodrome” to have two feet in satire: Jesse Eisenberg is Ralphie, a father-to-be lulled into a libertarian masculinity cult led by Adrien Brody. It is odd, then, to see the South African director mindlessly bypass the clever beats of parody in favor of a dreary mishmash of classics such as Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” and David Fincher’s “The Fight Club.” With a kid on the way, losing his job was not on Ralphie’s plans.

There’s a rich history of movies being entirely at odds with their cryptic titles—step forward Quantum of Solace—but for his follow-up to The Wound, South African director John Trengrove has picked a doozy, a title that sounds more like a dystopian Adam Sandler comedy than the dour story of urban disintegration that it actually is. Images of star Jesse Eisenberg sporting a mop of red hair for the film have been also something of a misdirect, perhaps giving some the impression that Manodrome, which premiered in Competition at the Berlin Film Festival, could be some kind of satirical emo Fight Club for sad-sacks. Fight Club comparisons actually do turn out to be (lightly) relevant, as are callbacks to Taxi Driver, but Manodrome is so achingly laborious and serious that it won’t be encroaching on either for virtual shelf space in the Toxic Masculinity section of anyone’s streaming library.

Christopher Vourlias Five years ago, South African director John Trengove’s feature debut, “The Wound,” scored coveted berths at Sundance and Berlin before being short-listed for an Academy Award — even as the powerful gay drama set in the secretive world of Xhosa initiation ceremonies faced angry protests in his home country. His sophomore effort, “Manodrome,” which plays in competition in Berlin, stars Jesse Eisenberg as a down-at-the-heels Uber driver and expecting father who begins to lose his grip on reality. He’s taken under the wing of a charismatic, self-styled father figure (Adrien Brody), who inducts him into a libertarian masculinity cult, even as his repressed desires — suddenly awakened — push him toward a terrifying descent into violence.

EXCLUSIVE: South African director John Trengove’s crisis of masculinity drama Mandrome, which world premieres in Competition at the Berlinale this weekend, is one of the most topical Golden Bear contenders this year.

His own theories. Andy Cohen revealed that he wasn’t buying Heather Gay‘s claim about not knowing how she got a black eye on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.

Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu has been reportedly dropped by fashion brand Oh Polly less than six months after signing a £1m deal with them.

A Capital FM presenter has apologised after making an "insensitive and ill-timed" joke about the earthquake in Turkey.

A Perth businessman is trying to arrange for aid collections for Turkey to be left at his city kebab shop.