Posts tagged LionsForLambs at Cinematical

Posts with tag LionsForLambs

DVD Review: Lions for Lambs

Posted Apr 8th 2008 11:02AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, New Releases, DVD Reviews, Home Entertainment, Politics, War

While it may have had an all-star cast boasting the likes of Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and Tom Cruise, Lions for Lambs appeared without a splash. In fact, it hit audiences with a dull and disappointing thud. Honestly, that partially surprises me, partially doesn't, and partially disappoints me. The film is by no means a masterpiece, nor is it a powerful and hard-hitting political thriller, action film, or drama. However, it does pack a punch against apathy and disinterest, and does so with a passionate and measured hand.

The film focuses on three main interactions – the journalist (Streep) and the politician (Cruise), the professor (Redford) and the student (Andrew Garfield), and the two soldiers and old friends (Michael Pena and Derek Luke), who are in Afghanistan. Each character provides a face to an aspect of today's current war-filled society -- one that brings it out of abstract thought and the printed word.

Continue reading DVD Review: Lions for Lambs

Discuss: Iraq War Movies and Their Box-Office Deaths

Posted Mar 26th 2008 12:02PM by Eugene Novikov
Filed under: New Releases, Universal, Box Office, Politics, War

This weekend sees the release of Kimberly Peirce's Stop-Loss, about a soldier who returns from a grueling tour of duty in Iraq only to learn that he's being sent back for another one. The movie's not bad: very passionate, very angry, a bit didactic, and liberal to the core. (See our own Eric D. Snider's SXSW review here.) The "liberal" part is no surprise, at least not if you've been listening to the conservative pundits who have torn into Hollywood for what they see as anti-war propaganda masquerading as entertainment. Those same pundits like to gloat about Iraq War movies' perceived financial failure, holding up their box-office receipts as proof that the American people either aren't interested or aren't on the same page.

But have the Iraq War movies we've seen in the past couple of years actually performed all that poorly? And even if they have, does that have anything to do with public distaste for liberal Hollywood or its "propaganda"? Take a look at some numbers and share your thoughts after the jump.

Continue reading Discuss: Iraq War Movies and Their Box-Office Deaths

Review: Lions for Lambs

Posted Nov 9th 2007 11:02AM by Kim Voynar
Filed under: Drama, New Releases, MGM, Theatrical Reviews, Tom Cruise, War

You know how it felt when you were in college and your dad would take you aside for a, "Let's have a serious chat about your future/what a slacker you are/why you need to start growing up and getting your life together" talk? Wasn't that fun? Or not. That's pretty much how it feels watching the lastest Iraq war flick, Robert Redford-helmed Lions for Lambs, written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, who also penned The Kingdom, which came out in September (and barely made back its $70 million budget).

Lions for Lambs gets its title from a story related by Redford's character, college professor Stephen Malley, about a German general in WW2 who had a lot of respect for the British footsoldiers on the front lines, even though he thought those brave men were being led by a pack of idiots. The general, Malley tells us, said of the soldiers "Never have I seen such lions led by such lambs." The film plays on that idea with our current (seemingly endless) war and the soldiers putting their lives on the line for decisions being made by people who don't seem to know what the hell they're doing. The anecdote could also apply to the film itself, which has heaps of earnest, heartfelt performances and a relevant message unfortunately wrapped up in an oddly discordant, moderately self-righteous package which is probably going to go right over the heads of most of the people at whom it's targeted.

Continue reading Review: Lions for Lambs

Box Office: Lion Claus

Posted Nov 7th 2007 10:02AM by Matt Bradshaw
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Thrillers, Box Office, Tom Cruise

I'm sure Jerry Seinfeld and the other people involved with his latest film had hoped it would BEE number one (oh God, that joke was a cry for help, please call my parents), but the top spot went to Ridley Scott's American Gangster. Seinfeld and company still can't complain too much about second place as $39 million is hardly chump change. Last week's number one movie Saw IV hung in there as well, shearing the limbs off the competition for the second week. Here are the final numbers:

1. American Gangster: $46.3 million.
2. Bee Movie: $39.1 million.
3. Saw IV: $11 million.
4. Dan in Real Life: $8.1 million.
~~5. 30 Days of Night: $4 million.~~
5. The Game Plan: $3.9 million

The holiday box office season is truly upon us with high profile releases and Christmas themed movies hitting theaters. Here's what's coming out on Friday.

Fred Claus
What's It All About: Santa's black sheep brother Fred gets bailed out of prison and comes to the North Pole to help make toys for the Christmas holiday. Vince Vaughn stars as Fred and Paul Giamatti plays Santa.
Why It Might Do Well: The teaser trailer that came out last year with footage that probably isn't even in the movie was hilarious. Vaughn seems to be playing a variation on his characters from Wedding Crashers and Old School, and he was pretty funny in those roles, and I'm dying to see what Giamatti can do as Santa. If nothing else, the sheer number of theaters this one is opening in will put it in the number one spot.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I tend to bristle when Christmas displays start showing up in stores right after Halloween, and I'm probably not the only one. Might it just be too early for Christmas cheer?
Number of Theaters: 3,400
Prediction: $34 million

Lions For Lambs
What's It All About: Tom Cruise plays a Senator on the rise who crosses paths with an idealistic professor played by Robert Redford and a reporter played by Meryl Streep. Redford directs this film, which is the first drama for Cruise in six years.
Why It Might Do Well: A cast this stellar will definitely get people's attention.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Rottentomatoes.com is only giving this a 38% rating, with critics using words like "talky" and "clunky."
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $11 million

Continue reading Box Office: Lion Claus

Thieves Steal Francis Ford Coppola's Everything

Posted Sep 29th 2007 11:02AM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Drama, Other Festivals

News hit this morning that a laptop owned by Francis Ford Coppola had been stolen from an office in Buenos Aires, where Coppola's Zoetrope Argentina was set up to do pre-production work on the filmmaker's next project, Tetro. The robbery happened Wednesday night, involved the tying up of Zoetrope employees, one of whom was cut by a knife, and apparently also included the theft of other computer, cameras and valuables. On the specific laptop, though, was a real treasure for cinephiles: the screenplay for Tetro, which we previously learned is about Italian immigrants in Argentina. It wasn't the only copy, of course, but it was a shame. Still, the original story seemed not to be devastating for Coppola, who wasn't in the area, as he isn't expected to begin shooting until next year. As of this morning, it didn't even seem like he was going to issue a statement about the incident.

However, now Coppola has spoken to the press regarding the robbery. It turns out the computers did have some very significant items on them, including personal and family photographs, reportedly all those of his life, as well as all of his writings from the past 15 years. It would seem like an odd place to keep such personal belongings, but considering Tetro is partially autobiographical, it makes sense that the office would have access to items from Coppola's life. Of course, he probably should have only left copies of his life down in Argentina, but it's not fair to criticize his mistake at such a stressful moment. Coppola spoke on a local television station in Buenos Aires, mentioning that he would really, really like it if he could get his backup disk back. He claims it would save him years of work if he could have the lost files returned. He also stated that he would be moving the Zoetrope office out of its Palermo location and into another safer neighborhood. We'll have to wait and see if the incident has disrupted plans for Tetro's filming.

Continue reading Thieves Steal Francis Ford Coppola's Everything

'White Jazz' Scribe Matthew Carnahan Signs with DreamWorks for 'The Zebra Murders'

Posted Sep 23rd 2007 6:32PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Scripts, Dreamworks, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, George Clooney

While it's too early to tell if Matthew Carnahan's first script, The Kingdom, will be a hit, you can't help but admire a guy that seemed to come out of nowhere (although he is the brother of director Joe Carnahan). Carnahan has already sold three other scripts that have snagged some of the biggest names in the movie business; George Clooney, Tom Cruise, and Brad Pitt to name a few. Now, in an interview with Ropes of Silicon, the writer is already talking about his next project. Carnahan will be writing a crime thriller based on the infamous Zebra Murders that took place in San Francisco in the early 70's. There have already been a couple of books written on the subject, but I would guess that most people are not that familiar with the crimes that took place between 1973 and 1974.

Over the course of one year, a group of serial killers with connections to the nationalist group, The Nation of Islam, were responsible for the muders of 16 people; they called themselves 'The Death Angels.' It has been reported that the group "believed that they could earn "points" towards Paradise when they died if they killed as many whites as possible". Finally, in 1975, and after one of the longest trials in California history, Larry Green, J.C.X. Simon, Manuel Moore and Jessie Lee Cooks were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Carnahan is working with DreamWorks on Zebra, and told Ropes, "It's just such a little gem of a story. If I can put two sentences together I think hopefully people will want to be involved". Carnahan is planning on focusing the story on the racial tensions in the city at the time. But, it will ultimately revolve around the two African-American policemen who were instrumental in the capture of the Angels. There is no official word on the project yet, but judging by Carnahan's relatively short yet successful track record, I doubt it will take long until we hear something more definite.

Robert Redford's 'Lions for Lambs' Gets a Trailer

Posted Jun 29th 2007 4:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Drama, Trailer Trash, Movie Marketing

For me (and people like me), one look at this fall's film slate brings lots of giddy excitement. I happen to be a big fan of the Coen Bros., Wes Anderson and P.T. Anderson -- and all three (actually, four) are debuting new films in a few months time. You Robert Redford nuts should also be on high alert, as the man has a new piece of ~~Oscar bait~~ high-quality entertainment heading our way as well. A few days ago, we brought you the first video from Redford's Lions for Lambs (via Entertainment Tonight), but now our pals at Moviefone have released the first official trailer. If you've ever wondered what Tom Cruise would look like as a potential Presidential candidate, look no further -- in Lions for Lambs, he plays a Senator who finds himself involved in yet another one of those "politically-charged intertwining plot" flicks. The film also stars Meryl Streep (as a journalist), Robert Redford (as an idealistic professor), and Derek Luke and Michael Pena (as two Afghanistan-bound students). The trailer doesn't give away too much info, but it's nice to see Cruise back in a dramatic role that doesn't have him running 40mph and/or killing a bunch of bad guys with his bare hands. Lions for Lambs hits theaters on November 9; you can check out the trailer below.

Tom Cruise's 'Lions for Lambs' -- First Footage is Online

Posted Jun 25th 2007 11:32AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Trailer Trash, Home Entertainment

Unless you're a big fan of ET -- that is, Entertainment Tonight, not the extra-terrestrial -- you probably missed the first brief look at Lions for Lambs, Robert Redford's next film that has him directing as well as starring with Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep. Back in November, Chris Ullrich told us about Cruise's decision to take on the role, having been handed a whole selection of films to choose from. Was it the right choice? If you liked A Few Good Men and want to see him earnest in a suit, then probably. If you didn't, maybe not.

The movie is about 3 intertwined stories -- a senator debating a crisis in Afghanistan, the reporter who made his career and a professor who is teaching political science and trying to convince a student not to give up his studies and head there. As the clip shows us -- Cruise is the Senator, Streep is the Journalist and Redford is the Professor. In Tommy's first scene, he stands up to look more imposing and less teeny to the sitting Meryl, then she takes over to talk about how a "we" failed to connect the dots and Redford then says: "Rome* is burning, son." And man, that guy can put a lot of heat behind a few words, much more so than Cruise. You can't really go wrong with two of the three pieces, but I'm not so sure about the third which really seems to make for risky business. I've actually liked a lot of Cruise's work, and have enjoyed him as a vet, a vampire and even a disfigured man. But a senator? I'm not so sure.

*Thanks to Allison for the correction. Good ear! MB

Cruise Chooses Lions for Lambs

Posted Nov 15th 2006 9:07AM by chris ullrich
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Casting, Deals

In late October (the 24th to be exact) I told you about Tom Cruise's latest dilemma between which new project, and multi-million dollar paycheck, he would choose for his next film. To refresh, his choices were a drama called The Ha Ha for Warner Bros., the horror-thriller Selling Time for director Spike Lee and Lions for Lambs, directed by and co-starring Robert Redford. Being the smart guy I am, I thought Cruise should join Spike Lee's film and make that his next project. They seemed like a good fit and I was looking forward to the kind of film a Cruise/Lee partnership would produce.

Of course, he decided to go a different way. According to Variety, Cruise has picked Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs to be his next starring vehicle. Not only that, but the pic will be the first film to go into production for United Artists since Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner took over the studio from MGM a few short weeks ago. Lions for Lambs, scripted by Mathew Carnahan, features three interconnecting stories about a congressman (played by Cruise) who's pursued by a reporter (played by Meryl Streep), an idealistic professor (played by Redford) who attempts to inspire a wealthy student to action and a pair of American soldiers wounded in the Gulf war, one of them a former student of Redford's.

In the end, Lions for Lambs might actually be the best choice for Cruise to take on as his next film. It's been quite awhile since he was in an "important" film with a message like The Firm, A Few Good Men or Born on the Fourth of July. It will probably do him good to get back to his roots and to a time when people thought he actually had some acting talent instead of thinking of him as some pro-Scientology zealot who jumps up and down on Oprah's furniture. Plus, with UA financing the pic, the new Cruise/Wagner mini-studio could already have its first film ready to hit theaters next year. Maybe this Tom Cruise guy is smarter than I thought? At the moment, there's no other casting news to report, but production is scheduled to begin early next year.

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Monika Bartyzel	160	0
2	Erik Davis	121	49
3	Elisabeth Rappe	84	0
4	Eugene Novikov	56	18
5	Kim Voynar	40	19
6	Jessica Barnes	39	0
7	Scott Weinberg	39	15
8	Peter Martin	27	17
9	Eric Kohn	25	4
10	James Rocchi	24	1
11	Jeffrey M. Anderson	21	4
12	Eric D. Snider	19	0
13	Matt Bradshaw	13	1
14	Joel Keller	13	1
15	Christopher Campbell	9	6
16	Jette Kernion	5	2
17	Patrick Walsh	3	1
18	Willy Volk	2	0
19	Nick Schager	1	0
20	Richard von Busack	1	0

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DVD Review: Lions for Lambs

Discuss: Iraq War Movies and Their Box-Office Deaths

Review: Lions for Lambs

Box Office: Lion Claus

Thieves Steal Francis Ford Coppola's Everything

'White Jazz' Scribe Matthew Carnahan Signs with DreamWorks for 'The Zebra Murders'

Robert Redford's 'Lions for Lambs' Gets a Trailer

Tom Cruise's 'Lions for Lambs' -- First Footage is Online

Cruise Chooses Lions for Lambs

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