Jean-claudeVanDamme Tagged Articles at Cinematical

This weekend's success stories:
1. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Miramax)
2. JCVD (Peace Arch)
3. I've Loved You So Long (Sony Classics)

The critical consensus on Mark Herman's concentration camp children's tale The Boy in the Striped Pajamas dropped a bit over the weekend (from 71% positive to 62% at Rotten Tomatoes), which didn't keep it from scoring a big win at the box office. Opening at 17 theaters, Striped Pajamas earned an estimated $15,000 per screen, according to Box Office Mojo. If you saw Striped Pajamas this weekend, are you recommending it to your friends? Is the holiday season the right time for a sober drama with (reportedly) a devastating climax?

Gotham moviegoers ignored minority sniping from several major publications and gave the reinvigorated Jean-Claude Van Damme a chance, rewarding Mabrouk El Mechri's action / comedy / drama JCVD with $23,300 in total estimated returns at the two theaters where it opened. JCVD is too self-satisfied and drenched in style for my taste, but Van Damme is great fun to watch and the film itself overcomes its limitations to deliver an entertaining experience. Are you planning to see it when it opens near you, or will you wait for the DVD?

Kristen Scott Thomas reportedly gives an award-worthy performance in Philippe Claudel's French-language family drama I've Loved You So Long. In its third week of release, the film saw an increase of 54.6% in earnings, despite adding just two theaters (still not in my area). That indicates very positive word-of-mouth recommendations. If you've seen it and encouraged others to see it, what in particular moved you or touched you? Was it because Thomas is good in it? Or is it just a strong movie overall?

By James Rocchi (reprinted from 09/07/2008 -- Toronto Film Festival)

All the world's a stage, Shakespeare tells us, but just imagine what kind of nightmare it would be if that were actually true. Jean-Claude Van Damme, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme in Mabrouk El-Mechri's JCVD, doesn't have to imagine if it were true, because for him it is; worse, he doesn't even get to pick the kind of stage he's on or the part he's playing. ... JCVD fakes you out from the jump and doesn't stop, opening with a one-cut action sequence set to the pulse and pound of Baby Huey's 8-track soul-funk version of Curtis Mayfield's "Hard Times: "So I play the part I feel they want of me/ And I'II pull the shades so I won't see them seein' me ..."

And during the opening, Van Damme, older and slower but still possessed of the skills to pay the bills, kicks and punches and shoots his way through a legion of stuntmen until everything goes wrong. And it's been going wrong for a while, and it's a good thing Van Damme still has the skills to pay the bills because Van Damme has bills to pay: IRS arrears, child support, court costs. On-set, he's getting no support from his director, a truculent young Hong Kong hotshot who doesn't want to hear Van Damme's complaints, insulting him in untranslated rants: "Just because he brought John Woo to America, he thinks he can rub my dick with sandpaper?" Van Damme needs this job; he needs every job. And so, the weary and aching Muscles from Brussels endures, bearing the heavy load of life like a '80s Atlas on unsteady ground in the new millennium.

(from left to right) Fantastic Fest programmer Zack Carlson, Fantastic Feud co-hosts Devin Steuerwald and Scott Weinberg, and Not Quite Hollywood director Mark Hartley

With the weekend came no sure rest for Fantastic Fest attendees. Saturday kicked off with, among other things: a screening of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes shown from an HD master of a cut unseen in over thirty-five years; initial screenings of the very popular Tiffany stalker doc I Think We're Alone Now and the very anticipated Swedish vampire drama Let the Right One In (which can now fall firmly in the former category); and a boat party held in honor of Donkey Punch, in which several youthful types face some serious consequences after their high behavior on the high seas. Did life end up imitating art on that front...?

All the world's a stage, Shakespeare tells us, but just imagine what kind of nightmare it would be if that were actually true. Jean-Claude Van Damme, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme in Mabrouk El-Mechri's JCVD, doesn't have to imagine if it were true, because for him it is; worse, he doesn't even get to pick the kind of stage he's on or the part he's playing. ... JCVD fakes you out from the jump and doesn't stop, opening with a one-cut action sequence set to the pulse and pound of Baby Huey's 8-track soul-funk version of Curtis Mayfield's "Hard Times: "So I play the part I feel they want of me/ And I'II pull the shades so I won't see them seein' me ..."

And during the opening, Van Damme, older and slower but still possessed of the skills to pay the bills, kicks and punches and shoots his way through a legion of stuntmen until everything goes wrong. And it's been going wrong for a while, and it's a good thing Van Damme still has the skills to pay the bills because Van Damme has bills to pay: IRS arrears, child support, court costs. On-set, he's getting no support from his director, a truculent young Hong Kong hotshot who doesn't want to hear Van Damme's complaints, insulting him in untranslated rants: "Just because he brought John Woo to America, he thinks he can rub my dick with sandpaper?" Van Damme needs this job; he needs every job. And so, the weary and aching Muscles from Brussels endures, bearing the heavy load of life like a '80s Atlas on unsteady ground in the new millennium.

Cinematical is very excited to bring you this exclusive clip from the new flick JCVD, which, surprisingly, has watched a tremendous amount of buzz build around it since it first screened at this past Cannes Film Festival. Now, as part of the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival midnight slate (it premieres tonight!), JCVD will receive a more proper introduction (or should I say, re-introduction) to the world. JCVD, of course, stands for our good friend Jean-Claude Van Damme, star of such action flicks as Kickboxer, Timecop, Universal Solider (first bootleg I ever watched), Double Impact, Death Warrant ... shall I go on?

From what I understand, JCVD follows Van Damme (who stars as himself) as he travels back to his home country in an attempt to find peace and tranquility after whatever was left of his career seemed to vanish. We'll have a review coming up very soon, but in the meantime check out this very funny clip below as it should give you an idea of the vibe this flick is going for. Dare I say this might be one of my most anticipated films of the fall season? JCVD will also play Fantastic Fest before arriving in theaters (in limited release) on November 7.

TITLE: JCVD
DIRECTED BY: Mabrouk El Mechri
STARS: Jean-Claude Van Damme

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Jean-Claude Van Damme, washed-up action star plays ... Jean-Claude Van Damme, washed-up action star. Trying to deal with a career in decline and various personal crises, the Muscles from Brussels stumbles into a bank robbery -- and has to explain to everyone around him that life is not, in fact, like the movies.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: Believe it or not, this was actually one of the most buzzed-about films in the marketplace at Cannes this year -- and the idea of Jean-Claude going meta and post-modern can't help but bring a smile to anyone with memories of the actor's '80s heyday. Plus, JCVD's also the opening film for Midnight Madness -- and sounds like the perfect pick for the maniacs who stay up late at Toronto.

Back to the TIFF Preview Page

The Muscles from Brussels ... goes meta? JoBlo.com has posted the trailer to the upcoming action-showbiz-comedy J.C.V.D., starring semi-washed-up '80s action icon Jean-Claude Van Damme as ... semi-washed-up '80s action icon Jean-Claude Van Damme. Apparently, the film sees a down-on-his luck Van Damme not just reduced to lame film projects and enduring a tiresome separation, but adding insult to injury, embroiled in a bank robbery gone wrong.

His glory days of Time Cop and Hard Target are, frankly, long past; Van Damme's output in recent years has been sketchy, sporadic and straight-to-video. And while the idea of seeing a Jean-Claude Van Damme project may have been off my radar for the past two presidential administrations, the tone of the trailer above -- self-deprecating, self-aware and goofily good-natured -- may, in fact, compel me to care about him again for the first time in almost two decades. Of course, if the film's long on maudlin moments and short on mockery, that'll be another story; I just hope we see more of the irritated, frustrated Van Damme dealing with fans and hangers-on and less of bad dad Van Damme regretting his mistakes.

Jean-Claude Van Damme's blue beret-wearing ways did not appeal to the masses, but this doesn't mean that Capcom won't try again. Over the past year, a new foray into the video game world of Street Fighter has been in the works. The last news came in July, when a script review was out. This time around, the focus will be on tough girl fighter Chun Li and her quest for justice -- she seeks revenge for the murder of her father. Now screenwriter Justin Marks is doing "a polish," and Variety is reporting that the production has tapped its director -- Andrzej Bartkowiak.

The director has some martial arts under his belt with Romeo Must Die, as well as some experience with video game adaptations -- he's the name behind Doom. Bartkowiak is also an experienced cinematographer -- having a hand in everything from Terms of Endearment and Twins to Dante's Peak and Lethal Weapon 4. So he's got the experience, but considering the fact that Doom actually grossed less than the first Street Fighter, which was about a decade earlier, what's the point? Usually when franchises or flicks are freshened, there's some sort of hope behind it. Christopher Nolan made many giddy with excitement when he took over Batman, and he delivered. What on earth can we expect, or hope for, with this project?

It's fascinating to me that I used to live in a world where the films of Jean-Claude Van Damme were popular. At his peak, Jean-Claude was pocketing over 5 million dollars a movie! And them's 1994 dollars! Doesn't that boggle the mind? I mean, Van Damme made a movie in which a Cajun-accented Wilford Brimley rode in slow-motion on horseback with a bow and arrow! If I had to pinpoint the moment when JCVD's career officially died, I'd say it was around the time he made that movie with Dennis Rodman, but believe it or not, he's kept his "acting" career alive ever since. He's had a pretty steady run of straight-to-DVD films playing characters with names like Edward "The Torch" Garrotte. I've always thought "The Muscles from Brussels" could make a decent comeback if he'd only let us know that he's in on the joke. Well, the dude is branching out a bit, but not in the way I'd hoped. He is attempting a horror movie.

Now, you could argue that all of Van Damme's movies have been horrifying in one way or another, but this is said to be his first supernatural thriller. It is called Holy Brood, and according to the film's writer Sheldon Lettich, it "deals with the occult and the supernatural." Lettich calls it a cross between The Exorcist and The X-Files, but "what's different is that it will have Van Damme instead of Father Karras, or Scully and Mulder." In other words, instead of respected actors, it will star a Razzie Award winner who can do the splits. For the three of you who give a Van Damme about Holy Brood, know that you'll have to wait for him to finish production on something called The Smashing Machine first. Yes, The Smashing Machine. By the way, if you've never seen this clip of Van Damme dancing in Kickboxer, I don't think it's overstating things to say that it will forever change your life.

Say whatever you want about video game-to-movie adaptations but some of them actually do make money. Sure, there are also some impressive duds like Doom or Wing Commander, but there are also some adaptations such as Resident Evil, with the third movie of the franchise currently in production, that are very successful. In fact, Resident Evil is the second most successful franchise ever for Sony Pictures -- behind only Spider-Man and its sequel. So, it should come as no surprise that Capcom, publisher of the Resident Evil video games, is looking at its licensing partner Sony and thinking: "Hey, how can we make more money from our video games?"

Well, according to a recent article in The Hollywood Reporter, the video game publisher, whose other titles include Devil May Cry, Lost Planet, Dead Rising, Onimusha and the super-successful Street Fighter, has figured out what to do -- make their own movies and work even more closely with Hollywood. Capcom's first foray into production, an adaptation of its video game Street Fighter, is currently in production and slated for a 2008 release. In addition to this move, Capcom has also hired a full-time liaison who will work closely with Hollywood and seek to develop as many ways to license, promote and exploit Capcom titles as possible.

According to the article, the company tapped former THQ exec. Germaine Gioia to serve in the newly created post of senior vp licensing in its Los Angeles office. About her new role developing properties and working very closely with Hollywood studios, Giola said: "I think it could be a fairly important and successful combination. Capcom believes that it's something that they are very interested in trying." Well, I'm sold. Whatever comes out of these new partnerships, one thing's for sure -- the Resident Evil films, while not masterpieces, are still fun and a great way to spend ninety minutes. If Capcom and the studios can continue to put out product like those, I, for one, will keep watching. Especially if Jean-Claude Van Damme stays far, far away from any more Street Fighter movies.