NimrodAntal Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When you think of a man of brawn who can outwit the ruthless Predator, you think of two men: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Adrien Brody. What, you didn't picture that last one? Well, Robert Rodriguez and Nimrod Antal did. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Brody and Topher Grace are both set to join Alice Braga, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Walt Goggins, Danny Trejo and Oleg Taktarov in Predators, a franchise reboot of sorts that will follow several of earth's "killers" who are kidnapped and dropped on the Predator's home planet for a game of hide, seek and be brutally murdered.

All joking aside, Brody and Grace's unassuming demeanors will be a big part of their characters. Brody will play a soldier forced to become a leader (presumably because the Predator killed the old one), but is fit for the job because he's "a hunter of men." Grace will play a nerdy, accountant type whose very ordinariness hides the fact that he's a serial killer.

The rest of the cast is a little better suited for the lethal jungle. Braga will play a tough female killer, while Ali is a man who is unafraid to die. Goggins is a loose cannon (there's always one!) and Takatarov will be a former Russian operative. But baddest of them all is Trejo's Cuchillo, "a hardened warrior with two uzis strapped to his back." I don't know about you, but my leader would be the one with the twin uzis. That's just me though.

Shooting begins next month in Hawaii, and then moves to Austin. Variety notes that Brody lobbied very hard for the role, and has already signed on for future installments. So, I guess we know which operative makes it out of the jungle ...

So amidst yesterday's set visit preview and our first little look at Freddy Krueger, it would appear -- according to Fangoria -- that the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street has been pushed back a bit from April 16th to April 30th, 2010, the same weekend that happened to bring in nearly $30 million for Obsessed this year.

And the same Fangoria piece brings up a move for Josh Brolin's scarred gunslinger, Jonah Hex, up from August 6th to June 18th, 2010. It seems like a vote of confidence, either because Megan Fox is such a big box-office draw now or because Will Arnett will be once G-Force drops this Friday.

We've also confirmed that Nimrod Antal's heist thriller Armored has been bumped from this September 4th back to December 4th. The week after Thanksgiving is usually somewhat of a no-man's-land for the holiday flops to fall away and the awards magnets to work their way up and out, but for every Aeon Flux, we get something fun like Punisher: War Zone, and early rumblings on Armored are that we might not have a dud on our hands. Having enjoyed Antal's Kontroll and 98% of Vacancy, and knowing that this flick helped him land the gig directing Predators, here's hoping.

Lots of movie geeks (yes, like us) have been abuzz with the vague discussions regarding the Predator remake / reboot / sequel / whatever. All we really knew was that the generally kick-ass Robert Rodriguez was on board to oversee, as the producer, but now we have confirmation have Robert's good pal that the director has been named. And that name ... is Nimrod.

Nimrod Antal, to be precise, who fest-goers will know from Kontroll and thriller fans will recall from Vacancy. Harry's got a whole bunch of cool info on the project right here, but I've chosen a small segment that makes me particularly happy: "It involves a very intense group of people stranded on a Predator planet discovering unspeakable horrors." Yes! Plus Mr. Rodriguez shares some enthusiasm from a Fox colleague: "No one is going to talk about AVP again after this movie. I stake my life on it."

Hell, just give us a knock-down, drag-out Predator fest with a few meaty characters, a whole lot of action, and maybe a few storytelling hooks. That'll make a whole lot of people happy. Speaking only for myself, heck, I thought both of Antal's films were darn good, so I've no reason to doubt RR's call on this one!

So Erik-with-a-k covered the coming comedies of 2009, Scott was all over the horror picks (though his inclusion of Race to Witch Mountain still boggles my mind), Eric-with-a-c nabbed the family-friendly fare, and Elisabeth went over the geek fodder that awaits. But while I respect their calendar years and made-up math alike, I've opted to divide my list of 2009's action and adventure flicks into four categories: Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About, Action Flicks I Couldn't Care Less About, Action Flicks That I Hope Surprise Me, and Those Which Fell In Between. Enjoy!

Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About: First and foremost -- Watchmen (March 6th). It's one hell of a graphic novel and looks to be one hell of an adaptation (with or without the Giant Blank), but the only problem is it may not hit theaters on time if 20th Century Fox has anything to say about it. Both Fox and Warner Brothers are fighting over who actually owns the rights, and if a judge favors Fox comes January 20th (when the court date is set), we're looking at a delayed release and a whole ton of angry fans. Then there's Public Enemies (July 1st), which has me sold on not the subject matter, but sheer pedigree: Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp and Christian Bale as '30s gangsters. (It doesn't hurt that the earliest word ranges from damn good to great.) On the skimpier side, I can only hope that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17th) streamlines its source material as the previous one had, and I can only hope that Crank 2: High Voltage (April 17th) lives up/down to the depravity of its predecessor. There's one last action movie that I couldn't care more about because, well, I've already seen a version of it. The international cut of Taken (January 30th, though reportedly opening with some R-dodging trims) is about as brisk and butt-kicking as one might hope out of a man-on-a-mission kidnapping thriller, and if you disagree, I'll send Liam Neeson to change your mind.

Gallery: Watchmen

The press booklet for Vacancy describes the main antagonist as a "criminal mastermind," which is not quite the label I'd assign him. A Norman Bates clone played by a decidedly middle-aged Frank Whaley -- trapped in Target with Jennifer Connelly was a long, long time ago -- his master plan seems to be running the front desk of his ramshackle motel while operating a high-risk side business producing VHS torture-porn. With the garage mechanic next door in cahoots, unlucky travelers think they are making a momentary pit stop but end up with mysterious car trouble that leaves them no alternative but to check into a room at the fleapit Hilton. Once inside, it quickly becomes obvious that the room is in fact a makeshift film studio, with cameras jutting out of every corner and a small library of videotapes cluttered around the television, so that the occupants are free to see what's coming next. According to the tapes, what's coming next is forced room invasion, followed by topless wailing, rape on the floor, garroting, knifing and lots of screaming.

Here's why I say its high-risk for the criminals: You've probably assumed, without being told, that once inside the room the victims are locked in, but quite the opposite. They are not only free to enter and leave the room, but the would-be torturers actually take the time to do an extended riff on the 'knock on the door and run away' game before they commit to busting in and getting down to business. This is the part of Vacancy that I found odd to the point of distraction. Let's say that it's you in that motel, instead of Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, and instead of free HBO on the television, you see camcorder guttings that were clearly filmed in the room you're standing in at that moment. What would possibly compel you to not run for your life, even if down a deserted nighttime road? Eventually, you gotta believe some victim of this long-running scheme is gonna come charging out of that room like an NFL running back, outflank his captors, and jog to freedom.

Get it? "Check out?" Cuz it's a horror about a motel where ... Oh, never mind. Click on over to Fangoria for your first peek at the retro-style one-sheet for Nimrod Antal's Vacancy, which stars Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale as a clueless couple who end up at the wrong roadside motel. Well, it's the wrong motel for anyone who doesn't enjoying watching and/or being in underground snuff films.

Seems like just last week that I knew nothing about this flick aside from the title, the director and the cast, but in the past seven days we've received a theatrical trailer, the new poster, and an official website (which currently doesn't offer a whole heckuva lot). The nifty-looking thriller opens wide on April 20, which will put it up against a dozen new releases (some wide, some limited) like Pathfinder, Kickin' It Old Skool, The Nanny Diaries, Severance, The Tripper, In the Land of the Women and Hot Fuzz. (Sounds like a good weekend for a triple feature.)

Is this the recipe for a half-decent horror flick? Luke Wilson: OK, sure. Kate Beckinsale: Yes, absolutely. Frank Whaley as a psycho? Definitely. English-language debut from the guy who directed Kontroll? I'm down. A deserted motel that houses a horrific band of snuff film-makers who lock their guests in and film all the terror? Yes, sign me up right now.

Vacancy was hardly on my radar at all before I enjoyed this brand-new theatrical trailer, and now it most certainly is. (It looks a bit like Identity, which is fine because that's a very cool movie.) Written by first-timer Mark Smith and directed by second-timer Nimrod Antal, Vacancy kinda looks like it could be a sleeper hit -- with the horror fans, anyway. Vacancy also looks like it'll have to take on a lot of competition when it opens on April 20; that's the day we're scheduled to receive Hot Fuzz, Pathfinder, Rogue, Severance, The Tripper, Kickin' It Old Skool, In the Land of Women and The Nanny Diaries.