Rating: 9/10

Writers: Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass
Directors: Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass
Cast: John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener

CYRUS is the the Duplass brothers’ first film produced by a major studio, and it features the most well-known cast that the directing duo has worked with to date. These factors naturally mean that CYRUS will receive more exposure than their previous efforts, including the independent features THE PUFFY CHAIR and BAGHEAD. With CYRUS, the Duplass brothers do not fail, even with brighter lights shining on them. (more…)

I have award show ennui. I’ve simply stopped watching the telecasts and have turned to fellow film journalist tweets to get my news (usually punctuated with colorful language and excessive exclamation points). It’s the nature of the beast, though – awards season means we have shaken out the best and the brightest for lauding (or, in some cases, the hyped and the pushed, but that’s a rant for another day), and results are going to look more and more similar as we slouch toward awards Bethlehem – the Oscars! The highlights now are simply praying for surprises and taking bets on who gives the best acceptance speeches.

Fortunately, this past weekend’s Screen Actors Guild Awards and Producers Guild Awards provided a little bit of both. Sandra Bullock used her SAG acceptance speech as platform for telling her husband she still finds him hot (this bit alone makes her somewhat-unexpected win almost worth it). The Producers Guild chose THE HURT LOCKER as their Best Picture. Maybe I’m being too harsh on award shows. Maybe they still have merit. Maybe.

Hit the jump to see the winners for both awards! (more…)

BURIED just premiered at Sundance the other day to rave reviews (in fact, you can see ours HERE). I don’t know too much about the film since I haven’t seen it yet, but I think it is better that way. I’d much rather be surprised when I do.

Luckily, Lionsgate has picked the film up for distribution, so it will be heading our way in no time. (more…)

Last Wednesday, I was part of a virtual roundtable with SURROGATES director Jonathan Mostow. It was a very interesting process and went on for about two hours. Since it was so long we got a lot of good questions about the film and the upcoming Blu-ray release.

We also got a first look at a special feature that will be included in the Blu-ray – an in-depth look at robotics and how they inspired the movie. It includes information about how real life robotics specifically inspired the special effects and make-up and  shows just how much working they’re putting into the Blu-ray.

Since there were over 65 questions, I compiled some of my favorites. You can see them after the jump! (more…)

Harvey Weinstein is known for being very outspoken, and he won’t censor himself for anybody. Oftentimes this can be a hilarious trait, but at the expense of others. This is certainly one of those times when Weinstein did something pretty outlandish that is also extremely funny.

Back in 1988, Weinstein wrote a letter to Errol Morris, who directed the documentary THE THIN BLUE LINE, which went on to become a critical hit. Harvey felt that Morris was not selling the film correctly, and called him out on it. Whether or not you think Harvey was right in doing this, I’m still tickled.

You can check out the full letter after the jump! (more…)

Rating: 8/10

Writer: Taika Cohen
Director: Taika Cohen
Cast: Taika Cohen, Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu, James Rolleston

I have never seen Taika Cohen’s previous feature EAGLE VS. SHARK, but after seeing the director’s latest film BOY, I have been hit by a strong wave of desire to see all work done in the past and in the future by this director/screenwriter. Cohen’s definitely got that thing referred to as talent.

Cohen’s BOY is about an eleven year old, nicknamed Boy (James Rolleston), growing up in New Zealand during the eighties (the same time and place that Cohen was raised). Just to be clear, according to Cohen, Boy is not based on him as a kid, and I would consider him to be a pretty reliable source in this matter. But Cohen’s familiarity with the period and kids of the time he is depicting does make the film’s setting and characters easy to buy, as well as easy to have fun with. Cohen knows just how the kids of this time act, talked, dressed,  and worshipped Michael Jackson. (more…)

There has been talk of a GREMLINS 3 for a very long time now, much to the chagrin of fans. Many fans have claimed that they would only be interested in the film if Joe Dante (director of the first two GREMLINS films) returned, and feelings were otherwise extremely mixed.

Now the rumor is that GREMLINS will be back, and taking the jump into the 3rd dimension. (more…)

Blu-ray rating: 7/10

PRIDE & PREJUDICE is one of the most popular and well-respected novels by the incomparable Jane Austen. Her books are well known worldwide, and have inspired readers for almost two centuries. PRIDE & PREJUDICE has spawned countless adaptations through various forms of media, including the highly revered 1995 miniseries that aired on the BBC.

Needless to say, many people weren’t too excited about the 2005 version being made, solely because the 1995 version is so close to many peoples’ hearts. The only problem was that the 2005 version was actually really good, and ended up stealing the hearts of many that watched it. It ended up being a critical and commercial success. (more…)

I’ve literally run out of AVATAR stills to toss up here for our Sunday afternoon box office wrap-up o’ fun. That’s why you’re getting subjected to a piece of the French poster for the film – there simply has to be something new to do or say to make this not seem like our umteempth retread of what we all know. Repeat after me – AVATAR is first place at the box office. Wee.

In its sixth week at the box office, AVATAR pulled in another tidy $36 million, to bring its domestic total to nearly $553 million, with a foreign take of almost $1.3 billion (that’s with a “b”). Total box office returns? $1.83 billion. WITH A B! Do you want some perspective? Here it is. AVATAR is now the number two grossing film of all time. Second, of course, to James Cameron’s other cash cow, TITANIC. On a domestic scale, AVATAR is just over $47 million away from breaking TITANIC – on a foreign scale, AVATAR is just over $6 million away from overtaking the good ship TITANIC. So, basically, within two weeks, AVATAR will be king (of Pandora) and I’ll just stop talking about in wrap-ups. (more…)

Rating: 8/10

Writer: Gaspar Noé
Director: Gaspar Noé
Cast: Paz de la Huerta, Nathaniel Brown, Cyril Roy

I should not be writing my review for Gaspar Noé’s ENTER THE VOID in such a standard way, typing my thoughts on the film using my computer. I should shout my perspective on ENTER THE VOID through a megaphone while parachuting naked.

I will not be giving the world the gift of that image, but I do think Noé would be proud of the chance I would be taking with my craft. Sorry, Gaspar, I’m not as bold as you. As traditional and simple is not Gaspar’s style. Fortunately, boundary-less and innovative is accurate for Gaspar Noé as a filmmaker. (more…)

Rating: 9/10

Writer: Chris Sparling
Director: Rodrigo Cortés
Actor: Ryan Reynolds

BURIED stars Ryan Reynolds as contract driver Paul Conroy who, while working in Iraq, finds himself mysteriously buried alive in a coffin after he is knocked unconscious in an insurgent attack on his convoy. And in a MacGyver-esque twist, he is armed with nothing more than a lighter, a cell phone, and the will to fight for his life.

But time is running out for Paul, as he must race against the clock to find someone to pay his ransom of 5 million dollars before 9 PM, or he will be left to suffer a horrible fate below the Earth.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS. READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK!

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Score: 8.5/10

Writers:Thomas Bidegain (screenplay), Jacques Audiard (screenplay)
Director: Jacques Audiard
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup

A PROPHET tells the tale of Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), an 18 year old French Muslim given six years in prison for assaulting a police officer. Once in, the vulnerable young man is preyed upon by mafia kingpin César Luciani (Niels Arestrup), who rules the prison with an iron fist and controls it with firm grip.

The boy soon becomes a man, as he is weathered by the hard life of hard time, fulfilling every bidding given to him by César. He becomes his errand boy, his attack dog, and his workhorse. And in the process, El Djebena is transformed into his own monster, as he begins to run his own game on the side. What follows is a story filled with murder, violence, drugs, religion, and racism, subsequently creating once of the best crime/prison films in the genre’s recent history.
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Score: 7/10

Writer/Director: Tanya Hamilton
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Wendell Pierce

Set in 1976, NIGHT CATCHES US is the tale of Marcus Washington (a wonderful performance from the always strong Anthony Mackie), an ex-Black Panther, who returns to inner-city Philadelphia after fleeing from his home and former life years ago. But tension still runs high in his race-torn neighborhood despite the absence of the Black Panthers.

And yet, despite leaving his old life behind, it has not left him, as his reputation as a possible snitch still follows him where he goes. A snitch that supposedly ratted out his best friend, and fellow Panther brother, to the FBI, leading to the man’s murder and making a widower out of his wife Patricia Wilson (Kerry Washington). But as there’s two sides to every story, there’s usually also secrets buried within one side. For someone to be telling the truth, another has to be lying.
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Score: 7.5/10

Writer/Director: Josh Radnor
Cast: Josh Radnor, Malin Ackerman, Zoe Kazan, Pablo Schreiber, Tony Hale, Kate Mara, Michael Algieri

HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE (say that three times fast), a grounded Woody Allen-esque tale, centers around 5 inept youngsters in their late-twenties/early-thirties struggling in New York City. Struggling with how to make a living and struggling with how to make something out of their lives. Struggling with love and struggling to be loved. Struggling with the inevitable…becoming an adult, and all that entails.

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The Butcher Brothers (Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores) have yet to premiere their latest film, THE VIOLENT KIND, at Sundance this week, but they’ve already secured financing for their next. Cynthia Stafford and her Queen Nefertari Productions will package and finance BLACK SUNSET, which Altieri and Flores have already written and will direct.

BLACK SUNSET revolves around ”seven friends on a surf trip to Mexico that turns into something that these jaunts often tend to in horror films: a gory, betrayal-filled nightmare.” THE VIOLENT KIND has a similar feel, following a group of biker friends whose weekend trip to a cabin turns…well, messy. Stafford attributes her interest in the film her desire to work with “two of the most talked about directors at Sundance.” (more…)