AmySmart Tagged Articles at Cinematical

On the eve of its release in 2006, some local pals accommodated me at their screening for the first Crank film, and when my reaction afterward was one of surprising enthusiasm, they kindly chalked it up to a matter of "demographics." (To them, this most recently excused my thoughts on Observe and Report as well.)

Three years later, I found myself attending a midnight show of Crank: High Voltage alongside plenty of demographically-appropriate (read: texting) kin, anxious to see just how Jason Statham's unstoppable hitman is going to beat the odds this time around. And three reels later, I began to wonder whether or not too much had finally become just that. Oh, dear... what if they told me to leave my brain at the door and my heart still wasn't in it?

Just the thing for Friday afternoon! The official Crank 2: High Voltage trailer has hit the net (in a far more "Safe for Work" form than the earlier one!) and ... well, it looks exactly like it should. Hilariously over the top, full of dubious science and medical treatments, and a rehash of the first Crank in all the right ways. You should be sold on it from that first glare from Jason Statham. (But then, that might be a girl thing.) When I heard they were doing Crank 2 and that it revolved around a robotic heart, I thought it was too stupid for words. But such is the power of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor -- the ridiculous not only makes sense here, it's insanely cool.

In fact, you might want to watch only the first thirty seconds or so, just enough to whet your appetite and get the concept, as I fear this trailer ruins an awful lot of the stunts and heart-starting gags. If you're going to spend the money to see Crank 2, then you should see it as unspoiled as possible -- consider that you're warning, and make your own choice, but IGN let us embedded it for you. Watch, laugh your ass off, and be glad there's some April action to look forward to.

As someone initially unimpressed with the teaser trailer for next weekend's horror offering, Mirrors, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the unpleasantries on display in the film's restricted trailer, among them the sight of Amy Smart ripping her own jaw off (what can I say, I'm a man of simple taste).

However, I then wondered if that particular moment wasn't the best that the film had to offer. Sure, you don't want to spoil too much before a film opens, but it's a scene that has become the focus of most TV spots and -- in hindsight -- the poster, and as a plot development, I'm almost certain that it'll happen before the film hits its hour mark (a matter that no one will be able to confirm until late Thursday evening, which is its own little omen). But it fell on me to watch that part and find my interest piqued.

All I had to hear was the name Alex Aja and I was immediately interested. The fact that the latest film (Mirrors) from the director of High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes also offers the added bonuses of Kiefer Sutherland, Amy Smart, Paula Patton, and Jason Flemyng got me doubly intrigued. Then I learned that Aja's Mirrors was set to be a seriously harsh R-rated horror thriller -- and I was hooked.

So this morning I attended a very cool breakfast / press conference that Fox put together for Mirrors. We were fed fine foods, introduced to Mr. Sutherland, Ms. Smart, and Monsieur Aja, treated to four rather compelling clips from the film, and then the floor was opened to questions. We didn't actually learn all THAT much about the upcoming film -- which I consider a good thing, as I don't want the whole thing spoiled before I see it -- but the room was more or less buzzing after it witnessed a sequence known as "jaw rip." Suffice to say that Ms. Smart suffers through one hellacious bathtub experience, and then we'll just leave it at that. Really nasty stuff, but in a very cool way.

Topics covered in the event included: Where Aja thinks horror is going (he's not sure, but he really hopes we're not due for another Scream-style irony session), what Ms. Smart has on the horizon (another horror flick called Seventh Moon and, of course, Crank 2), and why Kiefer chose to do a dark horror flick on his extended hiatus from 24. (He appreciates the fact that horror movies can really "strike" an audience in a way that other genres generally can't.) Mr. Aja also dropped just a few little hints about his remake of Piranha -- but all he did is reassure us that is was going to be "fun gore!"

All in all, a very cool Comic-Con event for what certainly looks to be a rough, tough, and challenging horror flick. Mirrors hits theaters on August 15.

You know, I've seen a lot of 'behind the scenes' photographs over the years, but these latest from Crank 2: High Voltage win the "what the heck is going on here?" award, hands down. The LA Times is now hosting 19 new images from the set of the follow-up to the 2006 action film. In fact, I have to be honest with you: I can't for the life of me figure out why directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor would need a giant foam head of Jason Statham -- but now that it has my interest piqued, it had better be good.

This time around, our favorite hit man Chev Chelios (Statham) has to chase down a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a bum ticker. But that's not all: on top of everything else, Chev has to keep his heart running on jolts of electricity (where's James Bond's dashboard defibrillator when you need it?). Joining in on the fun are Amy Smart (who we saw on set a few months ago in a 'questionable' costume), Dwight Yoakum, Bai Ling, and a cameo from '80s cautionary tale, Corey Haim (and for his sake I hope things went better on the set here than they did on Lost Boys 2).

Crank 2: High Voltage is expected arrive in theaters in 2009 -- maybe by then we'll know what all those big foam heads were about.

Not three weeks ago, I made first mention of a brief and bland teaser for the forthcoming horror film, Mirrors. Now, along comes IGN Movies with a red-band trailer that, at first, didn't do much for me. Blah blah blah, Jack Bauer as security guard for old department store, blah blah, former guard grew obsessed with surrounding mirrors, blah blah -- look, even Amy Smart is yawning after all that exposition.

Oh, did I say 'yawning'? I meant 'tearing off her own jaw'. Yes, while we still seem to be saddled with a fairly ridiculous premise that's seen better and worse days, there's modest comfort to be taken that the R rating ain't exactly being shied away from. Let's face facts here, people: all it takes sometimes is a couple of nifty death scenes to make movies like this that much easier to stomach (well, some might argue the opposite).

Directed by Alexandre Aja and starring Kiefer Sutherland, you can see Mirrors (bah-dum-cha!) on August 15th.

Ever since the first details have slipped out about Mirrors, Alexandre Aja's follow-up to High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes, I can't say there's been any vested interest on my part to see the end result. After all, those films were grisly pieces of work, and while I would respect Aja for deciding to mix it up with something a bit more psychological, the central premise of "vengeful reflections" is one that I've yet to see the suspense in, particularly in the wake of a certain SNL Digital Short (attached after the jump for your enjoyment).

The film's new teaser trailer has shown up over at Yahoo! Movies, and as unfair as it may be to judge a full-length feature on the merits of these whopping forty-five seconds alone, there's nothing here that indicates to me that the oh-so-spooky reflections of Kiefer Sutherland, Amy Smart, and Paula Patton are going to send chills up my spine come August 15.

Then again, it doesn't help that a demotion to the role of mall security guard doesn't stop my mind from automatically associating Kiefer with his gun-toting, voice-raising '24' hero, Jack Bauer. As such, feel free to wake me up if Aja opts to bring either Elisha Cuthbert and/or a cougar into the works. Now THAT's suspense, my friends!

Now that we know the storyline for Crank 2: High Voltage is going to be a little wacky, it might give these latest behind-the-scenes photos some context. The Bad and the Ugly scored some pictures of the returning Amy Smart in all her topless glory (the pics are a little NSFW, so consider yourself warned), along with Jason Statham, and Corey Haim (rocking one heck of a mullet) hard at work on the action thriller.

Picking up where the last film left off, Statham returns as Chev Chelios, the hitman with a need for adrenaline. This time, though, he's got a busted artificial heart that requires jolts of electricity to keep it pumping. There is also something about a 100-year-old gangster named Hu Dong, but it all gets a little confusing after that.

Earlier in the week JFX Online paparazzi had taken some photos on set (mainly of Smart), but had been asked to remove them (the photos are still all over the web, so JFX has since put them back online). Their reporter even took a few cheap shots at the production, but has since retracted those comments. Writer-directors Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine have already taken their fare share of criticism for the first film, but I know for a fact there are plenty of people who couldn't care less about the critics, and they can't wait until Crank 2 hits theaters in 2009.

Prior to her film's premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, writer-director Tracey Hecht found time to answer a few questions about her film and her process for Cinematical. Life in Flight stars Patrick Wilson as a successful architect with the "perfect family" who, after a chance encounter with a young urban designer (Lynn Collins), begins to second guess his entire life. We published our review of Life in Flight this morning, where Joel had the following to say regarding Hecht's direction: "Hecht does a nice job invoking a sense of place in Life in Flight; she must know New York well, because she shows or mentions aspects of it that most visitors just never see, like the birds that fly out over the BQE. The visuals suggest a filmmaker who not only is in love with New York, but insisted on making sure there was no doubt that the film was made there instead of somewhere in Toronto."

Cinematical: You previously said you wanted to make a film about fear. Seeing as this is your feature debut as a director, I imagine making this film brought about a certain fear from within you?

Tracey Hecht: Yes, definitely. But I'm less afraid when I'm doing something than when I'm waiting to do it. So I think the leading up to making the movie was worse for me. Once I was actually in there, I really had a amazing time.

Cinematical: What do you think people are most afraid of these days?

TH: Oh, wow, I have no idea. I imagine that list is long. But I think the trick is to really find and know what it is inside of you that makes you afraid, and not let yourself just project your fears out onto other things.

As Scott told us last October, there's a sequel to Crank on the way. This might seem surprising, considering the ending, but movies can make just about anything happen. This one will somehow take the seemingly finite ending and continue the story without the use of "dream sequences or long-lost twin brothers." Now, months after Jason Statham signed on for more Crank action, we've got the supporting cast for Crank 2: High Voltage. Variety reports that Chev's girlfriend, Amy Smart is back, plus Dwight Yoakam and Efren Ramirez. But that's not all -- Bai Ling has also signed on, along with Clifton Collins Jr., who will play Chev's nemesis.

This time around, "Chelios faces a mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working." If it's not low heart-rates and poison, it's mechanical hearts and electric jolts. He should ditch Eve and hook up with Gwen from Angel -- a girl with electric hands could come in handy for this action tale. I guess Clifton is the mobster, but there's no word on who Bai Ling will play -- perhaps a butt-kicking henchwoman.

The sequel kicks into production on April 28 in Los Angeles.