French director Pascal Laugier’s first English-language feature, “The Tall Man,” wasn’t seen by many, perhaps because that convoluted mystery-thriller with Jessica Biel wasn’t really the straight horror film it appeared to be. Maybe that explains why Laugier’s first film in six years returns to the terrain of his more successful 2008 breakout, “Martyrs.” While not as graphically icky as that film, his new “Incident in a Ghostland” adds up to much the same thing: It’s thoughtfully, even elegantly crafted, light on plot, character development, and explication, but very heavy on the torture inflicted on terrified young women. For some horror fans, such “extreme” content in a relatively upscale package made “Martyrs” special, and they may enjoy a similar frisson here. The rest of us will again feel a tad queasy about the way Laugnier meticulously showcases sadism while seeming comparatively indifferent to matters of basic storytelling logic and suspense.
- 6/22/2018
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Charlize Theron headed out in NYC yesterday. She's been on the East Coast since her current project, Hatfields and McCoys, began filming in Boston last month. Charlize was on set with her son, Jackson, last week, taking breaks when she wasn't busy overseeing production of the NBC pilot as a producer. Charlize may be strictly behind the scenes for this venture, but she's set to produce and star in an untitled crime film from writer Dan Nowak. The Paramount Studios-backed thriller marks the fourth endeavor Charlize is now attached to. She recently signed for Seth MacFarlane’s comedy, A Million Ways to Die in the West, as well as a Fred Savage-directed comedy called Ladies Night. Charlize is rounding out her long list by signing on to star in, and again produce, the film adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel Dark Places. View Slideshow ›...
- 4/3/2013
- by Michelle Manning
- Popsugar.com
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the winners of the WGA Awards for outstanding achievement in writing. In the Screenplay category, "Midnight in Paris," written by Woody Allen, took home the Original Screenplay award while "The Descendants," written by Alexander Payne, and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming, received the Best Adapted Screenplay award.
Winners of the WGA awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale served as hosts of the ceremony.
Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)
Screenplay Nominees
Original Screenplay
50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios
*** (Winner) Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Win Win,...
Winners of the WGA awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale served as hosts of the ceremony.
Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)
Screenplay Nominees
Original Screenplay
50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios
*** (Winner) Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Win Win,...
- 2/20/2012
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
A goof on those testosterone-charged, Hong Kong-style action pictures, "The Big Hit" nails the intended comic-book tone with a direct hit to the funny bone.
Executive produced by John Woo and directed by Che-Kirk Wong ("Crime Story") from a gonzo screenplay by Ben Ramsey, the shoot-'em-up boasts character-driven, kicky performances from a game cast headed by Mark Wahlberg and Lou Diamond Phillips.
With female-driven date movies crowding the boxoffice, there's ample opportunity for "The Big Hit" to become at least a moderate hit for TriStar.
Carrying over a little of that "Boogie Nights" gee-whiz innocence, Wahlberg is Mel, a nice-guy hit man who just wants to be loved. When not joining forces with fellow assassins Cisco (Phillips), Crunch (Bokeem Woodbine) and Vince (Antonio Sabato Jr.) or tidily disposing of fresh hits in the bathtub of his suburban home with a little help from his trusty saw, Maalox-chugging Mel attempts to juggle his messy love life.
Unable to choose between his demanding mistress Chantel (Lela Rochon) and his demanding, Jewish-American princess fiancee Pam (Christina Applegate) -- even though both seem to be more enamored of his earnings -- Mel struggles to remain in their good graces.
But things reach a crisis when greasy Cisco fingers Mel for his own botched kidnap job just as Mel is trying to impress his potential in-laws (Elliott Gould, Lainie Kazan) by cooking a kosher meal.
While Ramsey's script isn't overly concerned with plot points, he creates vivid characters that give the cast stuff to bite into, while Wong, in his first English-language outing, keeps up the runaway-train momentum.
Wahlberg delivers a pitch-perfect, comically straight performance, while Phillips is certifiably out there as his pumped-up, duplicitous mentor. Good, too, is Woodbine as the in-touch-with-himself Crunch.
Production values for this budget-conscious Toronto shoot are scrappy. The blue-screen effects are a little shaky, but with Taavo Soodor's lively production design, Margaret M. Mohr's playful costumes and Danny Nowak's hyper camerawork, they prove to be a minor distraction.
THE BIG HIT
Sony Pictures
TriStar Pictures
An Amen Ra Films/Zide-Perry/
Lion Rock production
Director: Che-Kirk Wong
Screenwriter: Ben Ramsey
Producers: Warren Zide, Wesley Snipes
Executive producers: John Woo,
Terence Chang, John M. Eckert
Director of photography: Danny Nowak
Production designer: Taavo Soodor
Editors: Robin Russell, Pietro Scalia
Costume designer: Margaret M. Mohr
Music: Graeme Revell
Music supervisor: Pilar McCurry
Casting: Roger Mussenden
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mel: Mark Wahlberg
Cisco: Lou Diamond Phillips
Pam: Christina Applegate
Paris: Avery Brooks
Crunch: Bokeem Woodbine
Vince: Antonio Sabato Jr.
Jeanne: Lainie Kazan
Mort: Elliott Gould
Jiro Nishi: Sab Shimono
Chantel: Lela Rochon
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Executive produced by John Woo and directed by Che-Kirk Wong ("Crime Story") from a gonzo screenplay by Ben Ramsey, the shoot-'em-up boasts character-driven, kicky performances from a game cast headed by Mark Wahlberg and Lou Diamond Phillips.
With female-driven date movies crowding the boxoffice, there's ample opportunity for "The Big Hit" to become at least a moderate hit for TriStar.
Carrying over a little of that "Boogie Nights" gee-whiz innocence, Wahlberg is Mel, a nice-guy hit man who just wants to be loved. When not joining forces with fellow assassins Cisco (Phillips), Crunch (Bokeem Woodbine) and Vince (Antonio Sabato Jr.) or tidily disposing of fresh hits in the bathtub of his suburban home with a little help from his trusty saw, Maalox-chugging Mel attempts to juggle his messy love life.
Unable to choose between his demanding mistress Chantel (Lela Rochon) and his demanding, Jewish-American princess fiancee Pam (Christina Applegate) -- even though both seem to be more enamored of his earnings -- Mel struggles to remain in their good graces.
But things reach a crisis when greasy Cisco fingers Mel for his own botched kidnap job just as Mel is trying to impress his potential in-laws (Elliott Gould, Lainie Kazan) by cooking a kosher meal.
While Ramsey's script isn't overly concerned with plot points, he creates vivid characters that give the cast stuff to bite into, while Wong, in his first English-language outing, keeps up the runaway-train momentum.
Wahlberg delivers a pitch-perfect, comically straight performance, while Phillips is certifiably out there as his pumped-up, duplicitous mentor. Good, too, is Woodbine as the in-touch-with-himself Crunch.
Production values for this budget-conscious Toronto shoot are scrappy. The blue-screen effects are a little shaky, but with Taavo Soodor's lively production design, Margaret M. Mohr's playful costumes and Danny Nowak's hyper camerawork, they prove to be a minor distraction.
THE BIG HIT
Sony Pictures
TriStar Pictures
An Amen Ra Films/Zide-Perry/
Lion Rock production
Director: Che-Kirk Wong
Screenwriter: Ben Ramsey
Producers: Warren Zide, Wesley Snipes
Executive producers: John Woo,
Terence Chang, John M. Eckert
Director of photography: Danny Nowak
Production designer: Taavo Soodor
Editors: Robin Russell, Pietro Scalia
Costume designer: Margaret M. Mohr
Music: Graeme Revell
Music supervisor: Pilar McCurry
Casting: Roger Mussenden
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mel: Mark Wahlberg
Cisco: Lou Diamond Phillips
Pam: Christina Applegate
Paris: Avery Brooks
Crunch: Bokeem Woodbine
Vince: Antonio Sabato Jr.
Jeanne: Lainie Kazan
Mort: Elliott Gould
Jiro Nishi: Sab Shimono
Chantel: Lela Rochon
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 4/22/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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