Another Sunday and another installment of VOD Vault, taking a look at some of this weeks on-demand releases that have hit various VOD platforms here in the UK. This week we have a very seasonal edition, featuring two films that take a horrific look at the holidays…
Krampus
Stars: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania Lavie Owen, Krista Stadler | Directed by Michael Dougherty
Krampus has seemingly become the de jour villain in the horror genre recently. We’ve already had two movies featuring the evil anti-Santa, Krampus: The Christmas Devil and Krampus: The Reckoning; and now comes a third. Although unlike its seasonal brethren, this Krampus at least made it into cinemas – and so it should have. This is the latest film from director Michael Dougherty, who exploded onto the UK horror scene a few years back when his Halloween anthology Trick ‘r’ Treat was screened at Frightfest.
Krampus
Stars: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania Lavie Owen, Krista Stadler | Directed by Michael Dougherty
Krampus has seemingly become the de jour villain in the horror genre recently. We’ve already had two movies featuring the evil anti-Santa, Krampus: The Christmas Devil and Krampus: The Reckoning; and now comes a third. Although unlike its seasonal brethren, this Krampus at least made it into cinemas – and so it should have. This is the latest film from director Michael Dougherty, who exploded onto the UK horror scene a few years back when his Halloween anthology Trick ‘r’ Treat was screened at Frightfest.
- 4/17/2016
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
The Midnight screenings for the 15th edition of Tribeca Film Festival were announced yesterday and several horror films made the list. The horror anthology Holidays, Fear, Inc. starring Abigail Breslin, and Rob Blackhurst’s Here Alone round out the six world premieres in that section. Tribeca Film Festival starts on April 13th and will continue until April 24th.
Press Release: New York, NY [March 8, 2016] – The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by At&T, today announced the feature films in the Spotlight, Midnight, and Special Screening sections. Also announced was the Centerpiece film, Works In Progress screenings, and the feature film lineup for the 10th annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. The 15th edition of Tff will take place from April 13th to April 24th in New York City.
The Midnight section will open with the World Premiere of the highly anticipated horror anthology, Holidays, from some of today’s most visionary genre filmmakers.
Press Release: New York, NY [March 8, 2016] – The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by At&T, today announced the feature films in the Spotlight, Midnight, and Special Screening sections. Also announced was the Centerpiece film, Works In Progress screenings, and the feature film lineup for the 10th annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. The 15th edition of Tff will take place from April 13th to April 24th in New York City.
The Midnight section will open with the World Premiere of the highly anticipated horror anthology, Holidays, from some of today’s most visionary genre filmmakers.
- 3/9/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
The great thing about underground films these days is that they are the last and final place where cinema can still be mysterious. They are the antidote to today’s mainstream movies that, on all technical fronts — from the scriptwriting to the CGI effects — craft nitpickishly logical worlds down to the nano pixel, allowing audiences to leave the magic of their own imagination at home when they go to the theater.
For the past 22 years, the Chicago Underground Film Festival has been programming films — both shorts and features — that miraculously asks audiences to bring their own imaginations with them to interact with the imagery conjured up by cinematic magicians. At the fest’s most recent edition on May 13-17, 2015, two extremely different short films perfectly typify the kind of enigmatic cinematic experience that make the viewing of underground movies so invigorating.
Echoes, by Winnipeg-based filmmaker Jaimz Asmundson, is the stunningly...
For the past 22 years, the Chicago Underground Film Festival has been programming films — both shorts and features — that miraculously asks audiences to bring their own imaginations with them to interact with the imagery conjured up by cinematic magicians. At the fest’s most recent edition on May 13-17, 2015, two extremely different short films perfectly typify the kind of enigmatic cinematic experience that make the viewing of underground movies so invigorating.
Echoes, by Winnipeg-based filmmaker Jaimz Asmundson, is the stunningly...
- 5/18/2015
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Thou Wast Mild and Lovely
Written and directed by Josephine Decker
USA, 2014
If Terrence Malick had a twisted little sister, it would be Josephine Decker; the resemblance is clearly discernible in her sophomore feature, Thou Wast Mild & Lovely, utilizing Malick’s uninhibited and experimental handheld style but with her own dash of psychosexual drama. Decker’s story is framed against the backdrop of a quiet country farm, and shells out the kind of chills that not even Malick could muster.
In the vein of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, the film follows Akin (Joe Swanberg), a man who’s taken a summer job on a farm only to develop an attraction to its owner’s daughter, Sarah (Sophie Traub). In what’s seemingly an inevitable romance, the pair’s physical attraction is amplified by their isolated setting, leading this quaint farm story to pack a ferocious intensity.
To drive the plot,...
Written and directed by Josephine Decker
USA, 2014
If Terrence Malick had a twisted little sister, it would be Josephine Decker; the resemblance is clearly discernible in her sophomore feature, Thou Wast Mild & Lovely, utilizing Malick’s uninhibited and experimental handheld style but with her own dash of psychosexual drama. Decker’s story is framed against the backdrop of a quiet country farm, and shells out the kind of chills that not even Malick could muster.
In the vein of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, the film follows Akin (Joe Swanberg), a man who’s taken a summer job on a farm only to develop an attraction to its owner’s daughter, Sarah (Sophie Traub). In what’s seemingly an inevitable romance, the pair’s physical attraction is amplified by their isolated setting, leading this quaint farm story to pack a ferocious intensity.
To drive the plot,...
- 11/19/2014
- by So Yun Um
- SoundOnSight
These reviews are reprints from our coverage of the 2014 Berlin Film Festival. "Thou Wast Mild & Lovely" In the sun-dappled, sweltering hills on a Kentucky farm, a minute shift in the pastoral chemistry unnerves nature. This change in the air is not initially calamitous, but nevertheless felt, possibly subconsciously, by the entire environment. This interruption comes in the form of Akin (filmmaker/actor Joe Swanberg), a young farmhand whose presence upsets the delicate balance of harmony on the ranch of Jeremiah (Robert Longstreet of “Take Shelter”), a curmudgeonly old farmer, and Sarah (Sophie Traub), his naïve and peculiar young daughter. Perhaps the equilibrium of this idyllic setting is thrown because their relationship has something ineffably insalubrious hanging over it. When Akin comes along to take up the job as the new farmhand, both parties reacts like disrupted molecules. The capricious and offbeat Sarah is intrigued and Jeremiah is immediately...
- 11/14/2014
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Josephine Decker's two first features, Butter on the Latch (2013), with Isolde Chae-Lawrence, Sarah Small and Charlie Hewson, and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (2014), with Joe Swanberg, Sophie Traub and Robert Longstreet, are opening today in New York—and premiering online, too, right here on Fandor. At Twitch, Christopher Bourne argues that Butter "impressively renders the psychological state of its protagonist in striking visual terms, and represents a wonderful artistic symbiosis among its collaborators." For Kate Erbland at the Dissolve, this "double feature serves as an effective, evocative introduction to Decker, who knows how to subvert demands while still serving up something fresh and compelling." We've got more reviews and trailers. » - David Hudson...
- 11/14/2014
- Keyframe
Josephine Decker's two first features, Butter on the Latch (2013), with Isolde Chae-Lawrence, Sarah Small and Charlie Hewson, and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (2014), with Joe Swanberg, Sophie Traub and Robert Longstreet, are opening today in New York—and premiering online, too, right here on Fandor. At Twitch, Christopher Bourne argues that Butter "impressively renders the psychological state of its protagonist in striking visual terms, and represents a wonderful artistic symbiosis among its collaborators." For Kate Erbland at the Dissolve, this "double feature serves as an effective, evocative introduction to Decker, who knows how to subvert demands while still serving up something fresh and compelling." We've got more reviews and trailers. » - David Hudson...
- 11/14/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
Thou Wast Mild and Lovely, the more structured and narrative-driven of Josephine Decker's first two features, takes place on a farm run by gruff patriarch Jeremiah (Robert Longstreet) and his winsome daughter Sarah (Sophie Traub). The introduction of a hired hand (Joe Swanberg) whom Jeremiah openly distrusts creates a sort of triangular tension, much of it sexual, and pangs of desire that are rarely spoken of even when acted upon. This tension is constantly rising and falling like the readout of a seismometer during a series of small earthquakes, each more noticeable than the last, as it builds toward something dire. The seeds of all future conflict in Thou Wast Mild and Lovely were sown long ago by some elemental trauma that each character has tried to b...
- 11/12/2014
- Village Voice
Thou Wast Mild and Lovely
Written and directed by Josephine Decker
USA, 2014
The rustic, lyrical sophomore feature of writer-director Josephine Decker, Thou Wast Mild and Lovely proves as slippery and elusive a film as its characters do to one another. A work of atmospheric dread enhanced through loose editing and heightened colours and sound design, it opens with a sensual female voice discussing an unknown lover – “But the way my lover opened and closed my legs, the way my lover folded and unfolded me into my lover’s breast, my lover knows how to love me” – over the image of a perturbed, barking dog, this coming right after footage of a father and adult daughter playing in a field with a headless chicken, each with the exuberance of running puppies. What follows rarely deviates from that enigmatic prologue’s register.
That father is Jeremiah (Robert Longstreet), who lives on a...
Written and directed by Josephine Decker
USA, 2014
The rustic, lyrical sophomore feature of writer-director Josephine Decker, Thou Wast Mild and Lovely proves as slippery and elusive a film as its characters do to one another. A work of atmospheric dread enhanced through loose editing and heightened colours and sound design, it opens with a sensual female voice discussing an unknown lover – “But the way my lover opened and closed my legs, the way my lover folded and unfolded me into my lover’s breast, my lover knows how to love me” – over the image of a perturbed, barking dog, this coming right after footage of a father and adult daughter playing in a field with a headless chicken, each with the exuberance of running puppies. What follows rarely deviates from that enigmatic prologue’s register.
That father is Jeremiah (Robert Longstreet), who lives on a...
- 10/23/2014
- by Josh Slater-Williams
- SoundOnSight
Following previous announcements of their film lineup, the Fantasia International Film Festival has released their full lineup of movies to be shown at the 18th Annual festival, starting July 17.
New additions to the lineup include 2014 Cannes Selection When Animals Dream, directed by Jonas Alexander Amby and the return of Fantasia’s showcase of animated films, Axis.
Tickets for the festival go on sale starting July 16, and the festival runs through August 5.
View the whole press release of additional announcements below:
Fantasia Celebrates Its 18th Birthday
With Over 160 Feature Films Montreal, Thursday July 10, 2014 – 2014 is the year that Fantasia turns 18. We can’t believe it either. Fantasia’s 18th birthday means over 160 features and something in the neighborhood of 300 shorts, many being shown for the first time on this continent, a good number screening here for the first time anywhere in the world.In addition to being stacked with a multitude of breathtaking debut filmmaker discoveries,...
New additions to the lineup include 2014 Cannes Selection When Animals Dream, directed by Jonas Alexander Amby and the return of Fantasia’s showcase of animated films, Axis.
Tickets for the festival go on sale starting July 16, and the festival runs through August 5.
View the whole press release of additional announcements below:
Fantasia Celebrates Its 18th Birthday
With Over 160 Feature Films Montreal, Thursday July 10, 2014 – 2014 is the year that Fantasia turns 18. We can’t believe it either. Fantasia’s 18th birthday means over 160 features and something in the neighborhood of 300 shorts, many being shown for the first time on this continent, a good number screening here for the first time anywhere in the world.In addition to being stacked with a multitude of breathtaking debut filmmaker discoveries,...
- 7/10/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Toh! has scored an exclusive clip from Berlin premiere "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely," starring Joe Swanberg in an uncharacteristically dark, dramatic role. The film is helmed by Josephine Decker (who previously starred in Swanberg's "Art History"). She has a second film at Berlin, "Butter on the Latch"; both screened in the Forum section. Here's the official synopsis for "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely," which Indiewire described as a portrait of "sexual depravity taking on nightmarish proportions":On a farm in rural Kentucky, father Jeremiah (Robert Longstreet) and daughter Sarah (Sophie Traub) squabble together like young puppies. Over crisp, verdant images of nature, of animals, streams and puddles, a mysterious, sensual female voice tells of her lover, who may be a person or may be the whole world. Enter Akin (Joe Swanberg), there to help out for the summer. He’s left his wife and child at home – and taken...
- 2/14/2014
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
In the sun-dappled, sweltering hills on a Kentucky farm, a minute shift in the pastoral chemistry is seemingly unnerving nature. This change in the air is not initially calamitous, but nevertheless felt, possibly subconsciously, by the entire environment. This interruption comes in the form of Akin (filmmaker/actor Joe Swanberg), a young farmhand whose presence upsets the delicate balance of harmony on the ranch of Jeremiah (Robert Longstreet of “Take Shelter”), a curmudgeonly old farmer and Sarah (Sophie Traub), his naïve and very peculiar young daughter. And perhaps the equilibrium of this idyllic setting is thrown because their relationship has something ineffably insalubrious hanging over it. And so when Akin comes along to take up the job as the new farmhand, both parties reacts like disrupted molecules. The capricious and offbeat Sarah is intrigued and Jeremiah is immediately leery of the sheepish young man he taunts and abuses. And Akin,...
- 2/11/2014
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Akin (Joe Swanberg) arrives at Jeremiah's (Robert Longstreet) farm in rural Kentucky to work as a handyman for the summer. Presumably with no other options for income, Akin has left his family behind as he clandestinely slips his wedding ring into the glovebox of his car. His motivation for keeping his family a secret leaves the inquisitively natured Jeremiah to derive his own conclusions about the blatant tan line on Akin's ring finger. Jeremiah's initial assumption is that Akin might be looking for some extramarital action this summer and he might not be all that far off. That is perfectly acceptable in Jeremiah's sexually perverse mind, he even has a young woman -- Sarah (Sophie Traub) -- awaiting such advances.
- 2/9/2014
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
★★★☆☆Beginning life as a Kickstarter project and now playing in the Forum section of the 64th Berlinale, actress and director Josephine Decker presents her sophomore feature, Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (2012), starring regular collaborator Joe Swanberg alongside Robert Longstreet and Sophie Traub. We open to an uncomfortable scene of father and daughter Jeremiah (Longstreet) and Sarah (Traub) cackling wildly as they roll around in the grass, tossing a headless chicken at each other as the gruff patriarch growls, "eat your dinner". This odd intro preempts the surreal tone that haunts the rest of the film's narrative.
- 2/7/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Most directors would be happy with just getting one film screened at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, but filmmaker Josephine Decker has two unspooling — “Thou Wast Mild & Lovely” and “Butter on the Latch.” And Christoph Terhecte, Lead Programmer of the Berlinale Forum Section where the films will play, has a simple reason why both movies are getting space: "I haven't seen such a powerful filmmaking in a long time." In “Thou Wast Mild & Lovely,” Decker turns the camera on star Joe Swanberg, after appearing in his films "Uncle Kent," "Autoerotic" and "Art History." Here, she tells a "East Of Eden"-inspired story set in the blue hills of Kentucky, centering on a father and daughter whose world is turned upside down upon the arrival of a young farmhand. Sophie Traub and Robert Longstreet co-star in the film. Meanwhile, in “Butter on the Latch” — already listed by Film Comment as...
- 2/3/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Warsaw-based company acquires Josephine Decker’s Berlinale Forum selection.
New Europe Film Sales has picked up Thou Wast Mild and Lovely, starring Joe Swanberg and Sophie Traub.
Josephine Decker’s sensual thriller will receive its world premiere as part of Berlinale Forum.
New Europe will handle all territories outside North America, where Paradigm is handling sales.
Decker’s first feature Butter on the Latch will also play at this year’s Berlinale.
The Warsaw-based company also recently announced that their first production - Dominga Sotomayor & Katarzyna Klimkiewicz’s mid-length film La Isla - will receive its international premiere at Iffr, which began on Wednesday (Jan 22).
New Europe Film Sales has picked up Thou Wast Mild and Lovely, starring Joe Swanberg and Sophie Traub.
Josephine Decker’s sensual thriller will receive its world premiere as part of Berlinale Forum.
New Europe will handle all territories outside North America, where Paradigm is handling sales.
Decker’s first feature Butter on the Latch will also play at this year’s Berlinale.
The Warsaw-based company also recently announced that their first production - Dominga Sotomayor & Katarzyna Klimkiewicz’s mid-length film La Isla - will receive its international premiere at Iffr, which began on Wednesday (Jan 22).
- 1/24/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Kids. Such as Sex, Lies, and Videotape or Reservoir Dogs before it, and such as Winter’s Bone, Blue Valentine and Fruitvale Station after it, Larry Clark & Harmony Korine’s seminal film is forever connected in “spirit” to the lieu where it received its secret midnight premiere screening in 1995. The Sundance Film Festival might be known as the birthplace of U.S indie filmmaking innovation, avant-gardism, a larger definition of the low budgeted film response to Hollywood in not only narrative but in the non-fiction form, but it is a festival made strong by its renewal and familiarity. That close acquaintanceness exists in Kids‘ starlets Rosario Dawson and Chloë Sevigny filmography/career path trajectory and connection to Park City (both have several indie films slated for ’14 – of which I’ve included in our predictions list) and it is that “familiarity” that is visibly noticeable in how I map out my annual predictions list.
- 11/18/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Having read quite a bit of Robert Cormier’s extensive catalog, I knew a film based on one of his books was bound to be haunting. But nothing prepared me for the reality of Tenderness. The story focuses on Eric Komenko (played by Jon Foster), an 18-year-old serial killer who is being released from the juvenile detention center he was in, his record expunged. He’s contemplating which college to attend, trying to go back to a normal life, but it’s not easy due to the publicity surrounding his case.
Shortly after his release, Eric opts to take a road trip to “check out some colleges in Albany” (or hook up with a girl he met while at the detention center, take your pick) and finds his car is already inhabited by Lori Cranston, who is sleeping in the back. Lori (played by Sophie Traub) is a troubled teenage...
Shortly after his release, Eric opts to take a road trip to “check out some colleges in Albany” (or hook up with a girl he met while at the detention center, take your pick) and finds his car is already inhabited by Lori Cranston, who is sleeping in the back. Lori (played by Sophie Traub) is a troubled teenage...
- 4/25/2010
- by Jessica Guerrasio
- JustPressPlay.net
Chicago – It’s been awhile since the ultra-useful DVD Round-Up brought you a wave of recently released DVDs that slipped below the mainstream radar but we’re back with a very star-powered installment of your favorite column and you can now expect us to return with monthly editions. Russell Crowe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt lead the way for this revamped list of synopses, cast info, tech specs, and special features. Pick your favorites from the quartet below.
“Tony” was released on April 6th, 2010.
“Tenderness” was released on April 13th, 2010.
“Neowolf” was released on April 20th, 2010.
“Uncertainty” will be released on April 27th, 2010.
“Tenderness”
Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video
Synopsis: “A career-hardened detective (Oscar winner Russell Crowe) becomes obsesses with the early release of Eric, a teenaged serial killer he helped send to prison. While the detective trails the young psychopath, Eric is joined by a troubled girl who knows the predator’s darkest secrets and desires.
“Tony” was released on April 6th, 2010.
“Tenderness” was released on April 13th, 2010.
“Neowolf” was released on April 20th, 2010.
“Uncertainty” will be released on April 27th, 2010.
“Tenderness”
Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video
Synopsis: “A career-hardened detective (Oscar winner Russell Crowe) becomes obsesses with the early release of Eric, a teenaged serial killer he helped send to prison. While the detective trails the young psychopath, Eric is joined by a troubled girl who knows the predator’s darkest secrets and desires.
- 4/23/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This week sees the release of several new movies and TV shows, some for the first time ever on Blu-ray. Of the ones coming out this week, we’re excited for a few of them in particular.
These esteemed examples of entertainment include A Nightmare on Elm Street, Pirate Radio, the debut of Voltron Beast King Golion, the thirteenth season of Dallas, the DVD release of the very funny Defendor and the 15th Anniversary Blu-ray of Apollo 13 (pictured above with Bill Paxton, Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise and Kevin Bacon).
Check them out:
Movies
A Nightmare on Elm Street ~ Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon (Blu-ray)
Apollo 13 (15th Anniversary Edition) ~ Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise (Blu-ray)
Creature of Darkness ~ Devon Sawa, Sanoe Lake, Matthew Lawrence (Blu-ray and DVD)
Defendor ~ Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, Elias Koteas (DVD)
Final Storm ~ Luke Perry, Lauren Holly...
These esteemed examples of entertainment include A Nightmare on Elm Street, Pirate Radio, the debut of Voltron Beast King Golion, the thirteenth season of Dallas, the DVD release of the very funny Defendor and the 15th Anniversary Blu-ray of Apollo 13 (pictured above with Bill Paxton, Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise and Kevin Bacon).
Check them out:
Movies
A Nightmare on Elm Street ~ Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon (Blu-ray)
Apollo 13 (15th Anniversary Edition) ~ Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise (Blu-ray)
Creature of Darkness ~ Devon Sawa, Sanoe Lake, Matthew Lawrence (Blu-ray and DVD)
Defendor ~ Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, Elias Koteas (DVD)
Final Storm ~ Luke Perry, Lauren Holly...
- 4/13/2010
- by Joe Gillis
- The Flickcast
DVD Links: DVD News | Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed
Pirate Radio Now this is a decent film, but it's decent in the way that I would say rent, don't buy it. Perhaps it will strike some folks as funny enough to own, but for me it was a one and done. You can read my "B+" theatrical review here. Essential Art House: 8 1/2 Criterion is releasing several more films to their "Essential Art House" collection and the chance to tell you Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 can be purchased for only $14.99 must be brought up. I absolutely love this film, it's a personal all-time favorite and if you want a bit of further explanation you can read my review of Criterion's Blu-ray release from this past January right here, though remember, the "Essential Art House" releases come without any special features whatsoever.
Other films added to the collection this week, and...
Pirate Radio Now this is a decent film, but it's decent in the way that I would say rent, don't buy it. Perhaps it will strike some folks as funny enough to own, but for me it was a one and done. You can read my "B+" theatrical review here. Essential Art House: 8 1/2 Criterion is releasing several more films to their "Essential Art House" collection and the chance to tell you Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 can be purchased for only $14.99 must be brought up. I absolutely love this film, it's a personal all-time favorite and if you want a bit of further explanation you can read my review of Criterion's Blu-ray release from this past January right here, though remember, the "Essential Art House" releases come without any special features whatsoever.
Other films added to the collection this week, and...
- 4/13/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
By Wrap Staff
John Polson directed "Hide and Seek" and "Swimfan." Russell Crowe is, well, Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe.
So why is their latest film, "Tenderness," getting released on exactly one screen on Friday?
The movie is adapted from Robert Cormier’s novel about a teenage girl (newcomer Sophie Traub) who takes off on a road trip with a psychotic young man (Jon Foster) who killed his parents and girlfriend on a medication binge. Crowe, as the cop who put the boy away, fears the girl will become the kid's next victim, so he follow...
John Polson directed "Hide and Seek" and "Swimfan." Russell Crowe is, well, Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe.
So why is their latest film, "Tenderness," getting released on exactly one screen on Friday?
The movie is adapted from Robert Cormier’s novel about a teenage girl (newcomer Sophie Traub) who takes off on a road trip with a psychotic young man (Jon Foster) who killed his parents and girlfriend on a medication binge. Crowe, as the cop who put the boy away, fears the girl will become the kid's next victim, so he follow...
- 12/8/2009
- by Lisa Horowitz
- The Wrap
Here are poster, photos and trailer for the upcoming Russell Crowe film “Tenderness.”
Eric Poole (Jon Foster) is a charming, attractive high school student with devout, domineering parents. Following an angry outburst from his mother upon her discovery of his promiscuity, Eric maliciously and violently murders both his mother and father.
Years later, Lori Cranston (Sophie Traub), an attractive and audacious young girl who has silently suffered years of sexual abuse from her mother’s revolving door of boyfriends, becomes mesmerized by Eric’s story. Undeterred by Eric’s murderous impulses, Lori flees her mother’s house to find him.
However, while Lori is attracted to Eric’s sinister mentality, Lt. Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe), the officer assigned to Eric’s case, is not convinced he won’t kill again. Cristofuoro goes after him, conflicted about his desire to help Eric – whom he knows has suffered tremendously – and, his knowledge of...
Eric Poole (Jon Foster) is a charming, attractive high school student with devout, domineering parents. Following an angry outburst from his mother upon her discovery of his promiscuity, Eric maliciously and violently murders both his mother and father.
Years later, Lori Cranston (Sophie Traub), an attractive and audacious young girl who has silently suffered years of sexual abuse from her mother’s revolving door of boyfriends, becomes mesmerized by Eric’s story. Undeterred by Eric’s murderous impulses, Lori flees her mother’s house to find him.
However, while Lori is attracted to Eric’s sinister mentality, Lt. Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe), the officer assigned to Eric’s case, is not convinced he won’t kill again. Cristofuoro goes after him, conflicted about his desire to help Eric – whom he knows has suffered tremendously – and, his knowledge of...
- 12/8/2009
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
Lionsgate Films U.K. have debuted the first look into "Tenderness" with the release of the film's trailer. Less than two minutes long, the video gives away a background story to the movie as well as displays footage introducing its four major characters played by Russell Crowe, Jon Foster, Sophie Traub and Laura Dern.
Set in New York State, "Tenderness" takes its focus on juvenile murderer by the name of Eric Poole and hard-bitten detective Cristofuoro. Having served his sentence for a young girl's murder, Poole is released from jail at the age of 18-year-old.
When he embarks on a road trip up-state, Cristofuoro who believes that Poole is a potential serial killer keeps him under his watchful eyes. But, all is not as it seems as Poole soon finds himself on the run with a 16-year-old girl, Lori, who could have been witness to the first murder and has become obsessed with him.
Set in New York State, "Tenderness" takes its focus on juvenile murderer by the name of Eric Poole and hard-bitten detective Cristofuoro. Having served his sentence for a young girl's murder, Poole is released from jail at the age of 18-year-old.
When he embarks on a road trip up-state, Cristofuoro who believes that Poole is a potential serial killer keeps him under his watchful eyes. But, all is not as it seems as Poole soon finds himself on the run with a 16-year-old girl, Lori, who could have been witness to the first murder and has become obsessed with him.
- 1/21/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Hatchet Director Adam Green is about to get Frozen with A Bigger Boat. The new shingle headed by ex-Lionsgate exec Peter Block will co-produce with Green's ArieScope Pictures. Read the full PR below.
Santa Monica, CA (November 11, 2008) Peter Block’s A Bigger Boat announced today that it has greenlit the chilling thriller Frozen, written and to be directed by Adam Green (Hatchet, Spiral). The company will produce the picture with Green’s ArieScope Pictures.
GreeneStreet Films International (Gsfi) is selling the film worldwide and has already closed deals at the American Film Market with the United Kingdom’s Momentum, Spain’s Aurum, France’s Metropolitan, the Middle East’s Ecs, Brazil’s Playarte, Israel’s United King, Scandinavia’s Svensk, and Turkey’s Medyavizyon.
The story revolves around three skiers who are stranded on a chairlift and forced to make life or death choices that prove more dangerous than even freezing to death.
Santa Monica, CA (November 11, 2008) Peter Block’s A Bigger Boat announced today that it has greenlit the chilling thriller Frozen, written and to be directed by Adam Green (Hatchet, Spiral). The company will produce the picture with Green’s ArieScope Pictures.
GreeneStreet Films International (Gsfi) is selling the film worldwide and has already closed deals at the American Film Market with the United Kingdom’s Momentum, Spain’s Aurum, France’s Metropolitan, the Middle East’s Ecs, Brazil’s Playarte, Israel’s United King, Scandinavia’s Svensk, and Turkey’s Medyavizyon.
The story revolves around three skiers who are stranded on a chairlift and forced to make life or death choices that prove more dangerous than even freezing to death.
- 11/13/2008
- Fangoria
- If I was a buyer on day I'd be checking out the rights to Greenstreet Films international's Tenderness. John Polson (Swimfan, Hide and Seek) content at the Cannes marrket I'd be curious to check out this tale which stars Russell Crowe, Laur Dern and young actors Jon Foster and Sophie Traub in a tale about When 16-year-old runaway Lori meets Eric, she is irresistibly drawn to him despite his violent past and the undercurrents of danger she senses. Lieutenant Cristofuoro pursues the pair and tries to unravel Eric's complex past before it is too late. Lionsgate will release the film domestically probably sometime this year. ...
- 5/15/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
As amorphous as the vague disease that afflicts one of its characters, "Daltry Calhoun" aims for whimsy and poignancy and mostly comes up empty. Writer-director Katrina Holden Bronson peoples her first feature with quirky small-town characters -- well played by the cast -- but doesn't know what to do with them. The involvement of Quentin Tarantino as executive producer won't forestall a quick segue to video for the latest item in the Miramax fire sale.
Johnny Knoxville brings a gentle, goofy sweetness to the title character, a one-time layabout who has gone legit. Using what he learned from his cannabis-growing experiments, he has developed a specialized hybrid grass seed that has made him the sod king of Ducktown, Tenn. Daltry, who apparently has a passion for golf -- though we don't see him indulging that passion until the film is almost over -- is eager to use his fortune to realize his dream project, a deluxe public course.
Calhoun Industries starts going to seed when the miracle sod proves defective, and all of Ducktown is rooting for the lovable entrepreneur, especially lonely young widow Flora Flick (Juliette Lewis). As he tries to save his empire, a flash from Daltry's penniless past arrives in the form of May (Elizabeth Banks) and June (Sophie Traub). When he last saw them 14 years earlier, May was his teenage girlfriend and June their barely walking baby. Chased from his family by an angry cousin (Beth Grant, in shrill hillbilly mode), Daltry has been looking for them ever since. This central thread, which sets the story, such as it is, in motion, makes no emotional sense. May, who didn't want him to go, also didn't want him to find her. Now the struggling single mom is back because she's dying, but all she tells Daltry is that they need his support while musician June prepares for her Juilliard tryout. She also forbids Daltry from telling June that he's her father.
All this deception serves no discernible purpose, though Knoxville has some nice moments as the smitten, sworn-to-secrecy dad. In the problematic role of May, Banks lends a fiery fragility, but there's only so much an actor can do when stricken with the kind of movie disease whose chief symptoms are dark circles and meaningful glances.
Individual scenes click, particularly those featuring Lewis and one in which Kick Gurry, as the Aussie seed expert Daltry hires, resists the charms of underage June. Newcomer Traub has real-girl appeal as the soulful teen, who appreciates Marty Robbins as much as Wu-Tang Clan. But individual scenes do not a movie make, and "Calhoun" lurches from one to the next with no direction or momentum, relying on oldies to paper the narrative. Tennessee locations lend authenticity to the production, with grass green dominating the design work and widescreen images. If only the story itself had such coherence.
DALTRY CALHOUN
Miramax Films
Miramax Films and L Driver Prods. present a Map Point Pictures production
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Katrina Holden Bronson
Producer: Danielle Renfrew
Executive producers: Quentin Tarantino, Erica Steinberg
Director of photography: Matthew Irving
Production designer: Tracey Gallacher
Music: John Swihart
Co-producer: Todd S. King
Costume designer: Mynka Draper
Editor: Daniel R. Padgett
Cast:
Daltry Calhoun: Johnny Knoxville
Flora Flick: Juliette Lewis
May: Elizabeth Banks
Frankie Strunk: Kick Gurry
Doyle: David Koechner
June: Sophie Traub
Dee: Beth Grant
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 93 minutes...
Johnny Knoxville brings a gentle, goofy sweetness to the title character, a one-time layabout who has gone legit. Using what he learned from his cannabis-growing experiments, he has developed a specialized hybrid grass seed that has made him the sod king of Ducktown, Tenn. Daltry, who apparently has a passion for golf -- though we don't see him indulging that passion until the film is almost over -- is eager to use his fortune to realize his dream project, a deluxe public course.
Calhoun Industries starts going to seed when the miracle sod proves defective, and all of Ducktown is rooting for the lovable entrepreneur, especially lonely young widow Flora Flick (Juliette Lewis). As he tries to save his empire, a flash from Daltry's penniless past arrives in the form of May (Elizabeth Banks) and June (Sophie Traub). When he last saw them 14 years earlier, May was his teenage girlfriend and June their barely walking baby. Chased from his family by an angry cousin (Beth Grant, in shrill hillbilly mode), Daltry has been looking for them ever since. This central thread, which sets the story, such as it is, in motion, makes no emotional sense. May, who didn't want him to go, also didn't want him to find her. Now the struggling single mom is back because she's dying, but all she tells Daltry is that they need his support while musician June prepares for her Juilliard tryout. She also forbids Daltry from telling June that he's her father.
All this deception serves no discernible purpose, though Knoxville has some nice moments as the smitten, sworn-to-secrecy dad. In the problematic role of May, Banks lends a fiery fragility, but there's only so much an actor can do when stricken with the kind of movie disease whose chief symptoms are dark circles and meaningful glances.
Individual scenes click, particularly those featuring Lewis and one in which Kick Gurry, as the Aussie seed expert Daltry hires, resists the charms of underage June. Newcomer Traub has real-girl appeal as the soulful teen, who appreciates Marty Robbins as much as Wu-Tang Clan. But individual scenes do not a movie make, and "Calhoun" lurches from one to the next with no direction or momentum, relying on oldies to paper the narrative. Tennessee locations lend authenticity to the production, with grass green dominating the design work and widescreen images. If only the story itself had such coherence.
DALTRY CALHOUN
Miramax Films
Miramax Films and L Driver Prods. present a Map Point Pictures production
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Katrina Holden Bronson
Producer: Danielle Renfrew
Executive producers: Quentin Tarantino, Erica Steinberg
Director of photography: Matthew Irving
Production designer: Tracey Gallacher
Music: John Swihart
Co-producer: Todd S. King
Costume designer: Mynka Draper
Editor: Daniel R. Padgett
Cast:
Daltry Calhoun: Johnny Knoxville
Flora Flick: Juliette Lewis
May: Elizabeth Banks
Frankie Strunk: Kick Gurry
Doyle: David Koechner
June: Sophie Traub
Dee: Beth Grant
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 93 minutes...
- 10/7/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.