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Review: The American
Filed under: Action, Drama, Thrillers, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Fandom, New in Theaters, Focus Features, George Clooney
Having tried something professionally, succeeded in my ambitions and yet still somehow fallen short, I can empathize with Anton Corbijn. His new film, The American, feels like exactly the movie he wanted to make, and it also feels like the movie his investors and collaborators knew they were making. But it doesn't feel like the movie they thought they would get from doing exactly what they wanted, which is why audiences will probably feel like it's not the movie they want to see. Corbijn, who previously directed the elegant, tragic Ian Curtis biopic, has crafted an equally elegant film for his follow-up, but its only genuine tragedy is that it doesn't feel more, well, tragic, leaving The American relegated to the status of noble failure even as it delivers an otherwise pretty (and pretty familiar) thriller about an aging hitman.
George Clooney plays Jack, an assassin who departs for parts unknown after his Icelandic hideout is attacked by revenge-seeking Swedes. Arriving in the Italian countryside at the behest of his boss Pavel (Johan Leysen), he strikes up an unexpected friendship with a local priest (Paolo Bonacetti) before being recruited for a new job: build a weapon for another assassin named Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). He agrees to deliver the weapon, but soon realizes that even its considerable payday may not be enough to help him escape his shadowy past, especially after he meets a young prostitute named Clara (Violante Placido) whose companionship makes him begin to long for a more normal life.
Indie Roundup: 'Kisses,' 'Standing Ovation,' 'Udaan,' 'Nancy'
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Gay & Lesbian, New Releases, Distribution, Focus Features, Movie Marketing, Cinematical Indie
Indie Roundup is your (striving to be) weekly guide to what's new and upcoming in the world of independent film.
Opening This Week: As we (by which I mean me) try to settle back into a good weekly routine, let's start with what's opening in limited release. Against the intelligent thrills of Christopher Nolan's Inception, which is likely to draw a fair portion of indie-oriented audiences, we see only a few contenders. Our friends at indieWIRE list the drama Kisses on their release calendar. Described as an Irish "romantic coming-of-age film," Kisses was originally slated for release late last year through Oscilloscope. Written and directed by Lance Daly, the film is centered around two kids who run away from home and spend Christmas night together on the streets of Dublin. It will be available via cable on demand systems at the same time it opens in New York and Los Angeles (on Friday), before rolling out to other theaters across the country in the next few weeks.
In the musical Standing Ovation, American tweens compete in a music video competition; the family film is booked into dozens of theaters across the country, per their official site at Facebook. Stewart Raffill (The Philadelphia Experiment, Tammy and the T-Rex) wrote and directed. And the Hindi-language drama Udaan follows a young man who returns to his family after eight years in a boarding school. He harbors dreams of becoming a writer, while his father wants him to be an engineer. I can't figure out from the official Facebook page if the film is actually opening in the U.S., but it looks intriguing.
After the jump: Who Killed Nancy and an expansion for The Kids Are All Right..
Is Jodie Foster's Directorial Career Cursed?
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Distribution, Focus Features, Movie Marketing
Jodie Foster's acting career has been steady and strong since she began her career as a child, but her attempts at directing and producing seem to be thwarted at every turn. She can push our buttons with a glance, whether as Iris the 12-year-old prostitute in Taxi Driver, Sarah the gang rape survivor who challenges the "she asked for it" defense in The Accused, or, of course, the seemingly unshakable Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. However, things have been a bit quiet on the Foster front lately. The Brave One, a revenge thriller that she starred in and executive produced, didn't wow audiences or critics, and neither did the family friendly 2008 film she co-starred in, Nim's Island. 1991's Little Man Tate, which she also starred in, was a promising directorial debut, and Home for the Holidays was fair to middling, but since then she hasn't stepped behind the camera. As she told Entertainment Weekly in 2007, another movie she was set to direct, Sugarland starring Robert De Niro, "just fell apart again... That's the story in Hollywood. You make personal movies and they're really hard to get off the ground. S--- happens." Another passion project of hers, Flora Plum, was being shopped around to international distributors as early as 2000 by Good Machine, the company now known as Focus Features.
Cannes in 60 Seconds: May 16, 2010
Filed under: Documentary, Foreign Language, Independent, Cannes, Universal, Festival Reports, Focus Features, Cinematical Indie
Important Announcement: I don't know if any of our readers can help, but I figured I'd relay the word that Roger Ebert left his MacBook Pro and the speaker for his computer voice in a taxi this weekend and as of this writing has not recovered them. He says his work will suffer without the laptop and he offers a reward for the return of both items.
Our Coverage: "Funny, sexy and mad," writes Joe Utichi about Gregg Araki's Kaboom. He claims the film is "not nearly as seminal as his earlier works" but recommends it and especially praises Juno Temple's scene-stealing performance.
Celeb Sightings: I can only hope Terry Gilliam and Martin Scorsese were discussing Georges Melies when the above photo was taken (Scorsese's next film involves the fantasy film pioneer). Scroll through the rest of Vulture's slideshow for unnecessary but continued evidence that French actresses (Isabella Huppert; Catherine Deneuve) age better than American (Meg Ryan; Ellen Barkin). Daily Mail has pics from the You'll Meet a Tall Dark Stranger red carpet. Evangeline Lilly's dress must be seen, and questioned. At E!, Shia LaBeouf braces himself while kissing Carey Mulligan on a boat.
Peter Hedges to Adapt and Direct 'The Heights' for Focus Features
Filed under: Drama, Deals, Focus Features
The name Peter Hedges may not be instantly recognizable, but his film's certainly are. (Or at least should be.) Hedges is the writer behind What's Eating Gilbert Grape, About a Boy, Pieces of April and Dan in Real Life, the last two of which he also directed. Now Hedges is continuing his relationship with Focus Features, who have just given the author-turned-screenwriter the go-ahead to write, produce and direct an adaptation of his latest novel, The Heights.Published last March, The Heights is about, "a contemporary couple raising their children in the beautiful, affluent Brooklyn neighborhood from which the book draws its name. Young parents Tim and Kate Welch have a relationship other couples envy, but their seemingly perfect world is turned upside down by the arrival of alluring, wealthy new neighbors."
There's no word on who Hedges will be casting as the storybook couple or the wealthy new interlopers, but Hedges has a nice track record in the casting department (What's Eating Gilbert Grape made Leonardo DiCaprio a household name thanks to his first Oscar nomination), so hopefully he keeps that going. I'd love to play the fantasy casting game, but I haven't actually read Hedges' novel. Are there any readers out there who have read The Heights? Do you think it'll work well on the big screen? And if so, who do you see as Tim and Kate?
Review: Greenberg
Filed under: Drama, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, New in Theaters, Focus Features
Noah Baumbach made a bit of a splash with his excellent 2005 feature The Squid and the Whale, which was steeped in his own family history, and darkly funny, but never shying away from pain or truth. Everything seemed to click on this movie. Unfortunately his next feature, Margot at the Wedding (2007), failed to repeat the trick; this one came across as agitating and prickly, with characters that never connected and all-too-obvious dialogue and symbolism (a dead tree?). Baumbach's new Greenberg seems to fall somewhere in the middle. It's a tough film to read; it's definitely irritating and off-putting, but it also seems to come from a place of genuine anguish.
Part of the film's success -- and trouble -- is lead actor Ben Stiller. Stiller is perfect for this kind of selfish misfit, and Baumbach reels him in before any typical Stiller slapstick can take over. But he also keeps himself at a little distance, a little defensive. He plays the title role, Roger Greenberg, who winds up in Los Angeles, housesitting while his brother and brother's family vacations in Vietnam. Roger has apparently just been released from some kind of mental hospital, and at age 41 has decided to "do nothing for a while." He passes the time doing some carpentry and writing complaining letters to corporations. While in town, he catches up with an old friend, Ivan (Rhys Ifans), with whom he was once in a band and was once inches away from a record deal. Roger goes to a party and sees his old girlfriend, Beth (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who is newly divorced. He begins to imagine getting back together with her.
Own a Piece of 'A Serious Man'
Filed under: Fandom, Focus Features, Newsstand, Contests
Wouldn't you like to have your very own piece of memorabilia from a Coen Brothers' film? Variety Children's Charity of Southern California and Focus Features are offering fans of the Coens' most recent film, A Serious Man, the opportunity to bid to win the 1966 Dogde Coronet driven by Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) in the Academy Award-nominated movie.
The auction begins on Monday, February 22, and ends on Thursday, March 4, and you can bid on the classic car here. Bidding will start at less than the $20,000 value of the car, which is not a bad deal for a driveable piece of minor movie history. It may not be as immediately iconic as the motorcycle from Raising Arizona or Josh Brolin's pick-up truck in No Country for Old Men, but it's still a sweet ride, and it's for a great cause.
Founded in 1941, Variety raises funds to "support a full range of services encompassing medical, health, recreational, and social services; and provide a wide array of therapeutic, literacy, and mental health programs not traditionally funded by other private or public sources."
Eric Bana Will Be The Father of Assassin 'Hanna'
Filed under: Action, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Focus Features, Newsstand
I'm very intrigued by Hanna, Joe Wright's hitgirl film that starts his steely-eyed Atonement star, Saoirse Ronan. Even if it's a bit of a Leon / Kick-Ass story, Wright hasn't really let me down yet (though I never did see The Soloist -- maybe I speak too blindly), and Ronan is a force to be reckoned with. Now she's landed a brooding hunk of a costar, as Heat Vision reports that Eric Bana is in line to play her nemesis and father. Hanna centers around a 14-year-old Eastern European girl who is groomed by her father to be a cold-blooded killing machine. She finds a loving connection with an ordinary French family, but is dragged kicking and screaming (I imagine that's no hyperbole) back to her father's brutal world. She then discovers that she's one of many such killer children, born and bred in a CIA training camp. If she wants to be free, she's going to have to fight her way out. Cue the blood and brutality, I hope.
An actor who has never quite made it huge on this side of the Pacific, Bana seems to be destined for darker roles in Hollywood films. He's capable of very funny and very nuanced work. (Have you seen Romulus, My Father? If not, go rent it now.) I can't imagine Wright is going to give us a one-sided bad guy, and will let Bana play someone who is loving and cruel. Given the way he's bolstered so many British careers, maybe Wright and Hanna will be the film that launches Bana into a more respected stratosphere.
Cinematical Seven: Favorite Dual Roles
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Sony, Sony Classics, Warner Brothers, Focus Features, Cinematical Seven, Lists, Miramax, Paramount Vantage
I guess it's a moderate spoiler to admit that tonight's Cinematical Seven was intended to correspond with today's home video release of the Sam Rockwell sci-fi drama, Moon, but even if I've tipped you off as to what the movie reveals within twenty minutes, I hope that not knowing the exact how's and why's of his situation intrigue you enough to still check it out. The reason I and others were so high on it was because Rockwell gave such a uniquely multi-layered performance as his lonely astronaut that I wanted to celebrate other notable dual performances by a single actor.
For the record, I've left off David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers because, well, I haven't seen it yet -- nor Multiplicity, while we're being honest here -- and I opted to exclude split-personality performances, similarly impressive though they may be (after some reluctance, I just had to take A History of Violence out of the running before all sorts of Jekyll/Hyde-esque condemnations came my way (Viggo's great in that all the same)).
As usual, your comments/suggestions are welcome, and as usual, we didn't snub anyone or anything on purpose. Except for the Eddie Murphy romps. They'll probably get their own Cine 7 someday.
Saoirse Ronan Becomes Hanna the Hitgirl
Filed under: Action, Drama, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Focus Features, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand
The one thing I enjoyed about The Lovely Bones was Saoirse Ronan's performance. I hesitate to say that she's destined for greatness simply because that seems so loaded with disappointment or danger. But she's certainly a talented and lovely actress, and I'm eager to see what she does next. Her next role may be the one that really makes her a force to be reckoned with as The Hollywood Reporter says she'll be taking the lead in Hanna. Directed by Joe Wright (who is clearly loyal to his leading ladies), Hanna is the tale of an Eastern European teenager who is being trained as an assassin by her own father. As she suffers her training and growing pains, she becomes friendly with a French family and connects with their teenage daughter. But duty calls, and she's dragged back into her lethal life where she discovers she was bred in a CIA prison camp simply to be a killing machine. If she wants freedom, she'll have to fight for it.
The similarities to Kick-Ass and Leon have already been noted, though Focus Features is selling Seth Lochhead and David Farr's script as something more in line with La Femme Nikita and the Bourne films. It may sound derivative, but assassin movies inevitably are no matter if they center on a teenage girl, a hardbitten agent, or an adamantium-laced mutant. The hook here is Wright's lush visuals, and Ronan cutting loose as an action heroine. There's nothing about that combination that's yawn inducing, and I'll take teenage hitgirls over Hanna Montana any day.
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