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TheMissingPerson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Trailer Park: Broken Toys, Serious Embraces

Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Foreign Language », Trailer Trash », Family Films »



Toy Story 3
Full length trailer for the Disney/Pixar sequel in which Andy goes off to college leaving Woody, Buzz and the gang to be donated to a daycare center. Looks like a worthy successor to the franchise. The toys start getting real again on June 18.

Serious Moonlight
In sort of a romantic comedy take on Misery, Meg Ryan plays a woman who duct tapes her cheating husband (Timothy Hutton) to the toilet and refuses to release him until he loves her again. Could be a cute idea but it's got a "wait for the DVD" feel. Watch for this one on December 4.

Dear John
Channing Tatum plays a soldier home on leave who falls in love with a college student (Amanda Seyfried) and carries on a long correspondence (hence the title) once he returns to duty. This is out on February 5.

The Missing Person
Filmnoir about a PI hired to tale a man who we eventually learn supposedly died on 9/11. I love the retro look and style of this one which will be out some time in 2009.

Broken Embraces

The synopsis for this one sounds intriguing -- a man chooses to ignore the life he lived before the accident that caused his blindness and killed his beloved -- but I don't see any of that in the trailer. On the plus side, Penelope Cruz is as stunning as ever. This will be playing New York on November 20 and Los Angeles on December 11.

New this week on AOL Moviefone:

  • The Crazies - Remake of a George Romero film in which a small town is exposed to a chemical that drives the residents murderously insane.
  • Disney's A Christmas Carol - Second trailer for the Disney holiday flick.
  • Tooth Fairy - Dwayne Johnson stars as an unscrupulous hockey player who is forced to work as a tooth fairy.
  • Shutter Island - Second trailer for Martin Scorsese's latest. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a Federal Marshall sent to investigate the disappearance of a dangerous inmate at a mental asylum.
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel - Second trailer for the second film starring Jason Lee and a trio of pop song singing CGI rodents.
  • Red Cliff - Historical drama set in China in 208 A.D.
  • The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - Terry Gilliam's latest about a man who dares to thwart the devil not once but twice.
  • The Book of Eli - 31 years after global war has ravaged the planet a man seeks to protect a book that could save humanity.
  • The Messenger - Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson star as U.S. soldiers with the unenviable task of informing people that their loved one has been killed in action.

Exclusive: 'The Missing Person' Poster Premiere

Filed under: Drama », Mystery & Suspense », Posters »


Click image below to view full poster

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for The Missing Person, a noir mystery from writer/director Noah Buschel that premiered at Sundance earlier this year. Michael Shannon (Oscar nominee for Revolutionary Road) stars as a detective hired to tail a man, only to find out that he's a missing person presumed dead after 9/11. The detective must then decide whether he should bring the man back to his old life against his will.

James Rocchi reviewed
The Missing Person in Utah and had glowing words for the film: "It showcases a lurching, hunched, quietly lived-in performance by Shannon but offers more than just that performance. It has the knowing, humane touches of Paul Auster's brilliant urban fiction but still manages to rope in familiar crime genre characters like the rich widow, the collaborating cabbie, the wanted man, the ethical crimelord, the unethical businessman, the femme fatale and -- most importantly -- the sad-sack, mercenary-but-moral private eye."

The noir is slated to hit theaters on November 20. View the full poster by clicking the image below.



'The Perfect Sleep' Brings Noir to NY, LA Soon

Filed under: Drama », Independent », Noir », Mystery & Suspense », Distribution », Trailers and Clips »

Film noir can be painful when it's done poorly, but overall, there really doesn't seem to be enough of it out there. Sometimes, you get something as straight-faced and reverent as Brick, and at others, you get goofy-but-affectionate riffs on the genre like Assassination of a High School President and South of Heaven.

So it's nice to hear something about The Missing Person out of Sundance or, in today's case, a title called The Perfect Sleep. Twitch, as reliable a geek barometer as any, has shared the trailer with us, and I suspect that we're looking at a stylish return to that "straight-faced and reverent" thing I was just bringing up. A nameless man (screenwriter Anton Pardoe) looking to fight his way through thugs and assassins alike to get back to that one dame (Roselyn Sanchez, and who can blame him?) -- can you get more noir than that?

Sleep apparently opens in Los Angeles on March 13th, with its New York bow to follow a week after and Chicago, Dallas, and Portland after that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find out what my Orlando contacts know about a missing movie...

Cinematical Seven: Movies That Made The Rest of Us Envious That Everyone Else Was At Sundance

Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Independent », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Sundance », Noir », Mystery & Suspense », IFC », Magnolia », Sony Classics », Distribution », Fox Searchlight »



(Warning: This one goes up to eleven...)

1. Moon -- Most were admittedly intrigued by the prospect of Sam Rockwell alone and yet potentially not on a lunar station going into the fest, and this seemed to be the first film to live up to its promise as a modest yet straight-up sci-fi endeavor (that just happened to have a Kevin Spacey-voiced robot, and just tell me you wouldn't want one of those waking you up and telling you to pay it forward all the friggin' time).

2. 500 Days of Summer -- I'd liked the vague stuff I'd been hearing about this one going into the fest as well -- namely, "Zooey Deschanel, Zooey Deschanel, Zooey Deschanel" -- and I certainly liked the teaser trailer that made its way out just hours before the film's formal premiere. Does it look like Fox Searchlight's particular brand of indie hipster quirk that's just begging to get too popular for its own good by about Labor Day? Sure, but if it's as adorable as it seems, that's a chance I'm willing to take, Zooey.

Sundance in 60 Seconds: Friday, January 23, 2009

Filed under: Sundance », Festival Reports », Cinematical Indie »

Sundance in 60 Seconds

The second Friday at Sundance is a day when many observers have returned home. But the festival is not over, and our intrepid crew remains on the scene.

Deals. The sight of Ashton Kutcher 's naked gigolo butt evidently convinced Anchor Bay Films that David Mackenzie's Spread was the movie for them. Eugene Hernandez at indieWIRE reports that the sister company of Overture Films paid nearly $4 million for US and Australian rights. Kutcher served as a producer on the film, which also stars Anne Heche, Rachel Blanchard, Margarita Levieva, and Sonia Rockwell.

Speaking of Rockwells, Brian Brooks (also of indieWIRE), says that Sony Pictures Classics will distribute the Sam Rockwell-starring Moon, the science fiction flick directed by David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition Group pre-bought the film's rights before the festival. Sony Classics plans a June 2009 release. James Rocchi reviewed it for Cinematical last week.

Reviews/Interview. Our man James followed up his review of the doc We Live in Public by talking with director Ondi Timoner and subject Josh Harris. James also discovered Noah Buschel's The Missing Person, starring Michael Shannon; James says the film "isn't merely a clever, cool spin on the classic private eye story, but it also works as a private eye story." Finally, James got An Education from suddenly hot actress Carey Mulligan, director Lone Scherfig, and scripter Nick Hornby; the film's evocation of 1960s England struck James as "superbly constructed, yes, but those elements also connect." Be sure to catch up on all of Cinematical's coverage via the Sundance hub at Moviefone.

Blog Talk. Continue onward, brave reader, for a few more quotable quotes.

Sundance Review: The Missing Person

Filed under: Drama », Sundance », Noir », Mystery & Suspense », Theatrical Reviews », Festival Reports », Oscar Watch », Sundance Reviews 2009 »



The Missing Person
, playing at Sundance even as its star Michael Shannon earns an Oscar nomination for his work in Revolutionary Road, isn't merely a clever, cool spin on the classic private eye story, but it also works as a private eye story. It showcases a lurching, hunched, quietly lived-in performance by Shannon but offers more than just that performance. It has the knowing, humane touches of Paul Auster's brilliant urban fiction but still manages to rope in familiar crime genre characters like the rich widow, the collaborating cabbie, the wanted man, the ethical crimelord, the unethical businessman, the femme fatale and -- most importantly -- the sad-sack, mercenary-but-moral private eye.

John Rosow (Shannon) lives and works and drinks -- and does a far better job of the last thing in that list than the first two -- in a shabby office in Chicago. The phone rings. Get to the train station by 7, he's told. Board the Zephyr Express from Chicago to L.A.; there's a man to follow. An old friend in New York recommended him, and he's got the job if he wants it: "Five hundred dollars a day, plus expenses ... not including gin." After Miss Charlie (Amy Ryan) gives him the dossier of background and some cash, Rosow shaves, puts on a brown suit, goes to the train and takes the job. Because that's what a private eye does, as near as he can tell. And aside from the ringing phone being a cell, we could be in the 30's or the '40s or the '50s with the train and the gin and the cash and the job. But, of course, we're not.

Sundance '09: Our 12 Most Anticipated Films

Filed under: Sundance », Fandom », DIY/Filmmaking », Lists »



It's just about time for myself and a few trusty Cinematical cohorts (James Rocchi, Scott Weinberg and Eric D. Snider) to pack up our bags and head for the mountains of Park City, Utah -- home to, of course, the Sundance Film Festival. Once we're on the ground, we'll be posting reviews, interviews, scene/party coverage, photos, videos and whatever else there is to throw online that way you, our most loyal readers, will feel like you're right smack in the middle of the biggest film festival of the year. And to get the ball rolling, here are our 12 most anticipated films of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

12 Most Anticipated Sundance Films

    1. Big Fan
    The Wrestler screenwriter Robert D. Siegel returns to New Jersey as director for this drama about a hardcore NY Giants fan (Patton Oswalt) who suffers major consequences when he's beaten up by his favorite player.
    We Say: Hey Giants fans, at least we can watch them beating someone ...

    Sundance Film Festival

    2. 500 Days of Summer
    A quirky, offbeat comedy about a girl who doesn't believe in true love and the guy who falls head over feet for her.
    We Say: Cliché? Maybe. But when else will we get to see indie darlings Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star opposite one another?

    Sundance Film Festival

    3. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
    Based on the collection of short stories, Hideous Men follows a female grad student who, following a breakup, decides to interview men in an attempt to uncover the secrets behind their unpredictable behavior.
    We Say: Fans of The Office's John Krasinski (who wrote and directed) will get to see his debut as a filmmaker.

    Sundance Film Festival

    4. Moon
    A character study about a lone astronaut (Sam Rockwell) stationed on the moon for three years who begins to unravel physically and mentally.
    We Say: A whole film of just Sam Rockwell? Sign us up!

    Sundance Film Festival

    5. Art & Copy
    Doug Pray directs this documentary which delves deep inside the advertising industry to reveal the hidden secrets behind some of the most successful and innovative campaigns of our time.
    We Say: Pray's Surfwise was one of the greatest (and most overlooked) docs of 2008, and so we'll gladly welcome his next outing.

    Sundance Film Festival

    6. Sin Nombre
    A social-political thriller set on the Mexican border about three teens whose fates collide on a train heading for the United States.
    We Say: Writer-director Cary Joji Fukunaga is one to watch having taken home a student Academy Award for his previous short film, Victoria para chino.

    Sundance Film Festival

    7. I Love You Phillip Morris
    The writers of Bad Santa make their directorial debut with this story about a cop-turned-con man (Jim Carrey) who falls for a fellow inmate (Ewan McGregor) while in prison. But is it all just one big con?
    We Say: There's nothing about this on-screen recipe that doesn't reek of fun festival flick.

    Sundance Film Festival

    8. Reporter
    Executive produced by Ben Affleck, Eric Daniel Metzgar's documentary travels deep into the Congo following New York Times reporter Nicholas D. Kristof on a mission to expose the affect this kind of journalism has on the rest of the world.
    We Say: Definitely a worthy watch during this, the age of the disappearing journalist.

    Sundance Film Festival

    9. The Missing Person
    Starring Michael Shannon, Amy Ryan and Frank Wood, The Missing Person tells of a private investigator/alcoholic who lands the case of his life ... if he can just stick around long enough to crack it.
    We Say: The promise of a smooth noir caper with a few sweet performances has more than piqued our interest.

    Sundance Film Festival

    10. World's Greatest Dad
    In an attempt not to feel shame following his son's death, a father (Robin Williams) writes a fake suicide note which ultimately gets published and becomes a huge hit – leading him to dive into a career as a fake author.
    We Say: It's directed by funnyman Bobcat Goldthwait, whose keen eye for devilishly dark comedy (see: Stay) has us very interested.

    Sundance Film Festival

 
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