By James Lindorf
Two years after breaking every budget and box-office record, Joe and Anthony Russo are back. The brothers brought along Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and less than 3% of the Endgame budget with them to “Cherry.” Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Nico Walker, “Cherry” is a wild six stage journey of a young man forever changed by falling in love. In 2005 Cherry dropped out of college to serve in Iraq as an Army medic and returned home as a hero. Battling undiagnosed PTSD, Cherry spiraled into drug addiction and surrounded himself with a collection of depraved misfits. As he nears rock bottom, Cherry turns to robbing banks to fund the raging addictions. Through it all, he is anchored by his relationship with Emily (Ciara Bravo). This gritty and darkly humorous coming-of-age story will premiere in select theaters on February 26th, 2021, and globally on Apple TV+ Friday, March 12th, 2021.
Our full review won’t be available for a couple of weeks. For now, you can listen in on the conversation I had with Special Effects Makeup Department Head Robert Kurtzman and Hair Department Head Deborah Paulk. Deborah started working on films back in 2016 and has worked on notable movies like “White Boy Rick,” and “The Bye Bye Man.” On the other hand, Kurtzman is a legend in special effects makeup who has been at it for 35 years. His filmography includes properties like “Evil Dead II,” “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Doctor Sleep,” and “The Haunting of Hill House.”
