cole hauser Tagged Articles at Cinematical

To state that The Family That Preys is Tyler Perry's most accomplished screen effort to date doesn't change the fact that it's still exactly the kind of preachy, pandering, tone-shifting, gospel-laced soap opera that he's served up time and time again to his dedicated audience. However, in the grand scheme of things, his skills as a writer-director have been honed just well enough to make one wish that Perry would trust someone else to polish his rough spots at the script stage, so that his cast might play at something a bit more substantial than petty drama and broad sermons, and so that his critical reputation as a filmmaker might grow (well, recover) from the shrill likes of his trademark Madea character.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from The Stone Angel, starring the legendary Ellen Burstyn as a woman looking to resolve the memories of her past as she nears the end of her life. Joining her on this emotional (yet somewhat comedic, as you see above) journey are a cast that includes Dylan Baker, Ellen Page, Christine Horne and Cole Hauser. The film is based on the novel by Margaret Laurence, and is directed (and adapted) by Kari Skogland. In the clip above, Burstyn, who plays a woman named Hagar, is found passed out in a shack on the beach. When her son Marvin (Baker) arrives to remove her from this situation, their exchange is classic. Check it out above, and go see The Stone Angel when it hits theaters on July 11.

James Denton and Jon Cryer -- two guys who have found enormous recent success on the small screen -- are heading to the bigs for the psychological thriller Tortured. The film starts production on Monday, Erik brought you a bit of news on it last week. Denton is best known for his nuanced portrayal of hunky plumber Mike Delfino on Desperate Housewives, a role that I'm sure has led to countless saucy jokes involving the words "pipe," "tool," and "plumbing." Cryer plays Charlie Sheen's brother on the smash comedy Two and a Half Men, but to an entire generation, he will forever be known as "Duckie" from Pretty in Pink. The guy could cure cancer and I'd still think of him lip-syncing to Otis Redding to impress Molly Ringwald.

Tortured stars Morpheus himself Laurence Fishburne and Cole Hauser. (I have this theory that Hauser and Josh Lucas are the same person, but that's a discussion for another time). Tortured is about "an FBI agent (Hauser) who goes undercover as an organized crime enforcer. When he's ordered to undertake the weeklong torture of an accountant (Fishburne), he begins to question his roles." For his first feature film since 2001's Glam (missed that one), Cryer will go against type to play Hauser's (wisecracking?) partner. Denton will play their supervisor. Nolan Lebovitz (Dr. Benny -- missed that one, too) wrote the script and will direct. Denton's next film is Undead or Alive: A Zombedy, which co-stars Chris Kattan as "a cowboy with a broken heart." My prediction on that one? $100 million easy.

Remember that scene in The Matrix when Laurence Fishburne is getting the snot kicked out of him (literally)? Poor dude was hunched over in a chair; bloody, beaten -- you were hoping he'd make it out, but deep down inside you really wanted to give him a tissue. "Here man, wipe some of that sh*t off. Seriously, it's disgusting." Well, I immediately thought of that scene while reading about this latest bit of Fishburne casting news via Variety. According to them, he's signed on to star alongside Cole Hauser (he's the cute, clean-cut guy in films like The Cave, Paparazzi and 2 Fast 2 Furious) in Tortured, for Five Star Pictures, Insight Film Studios and Proud Mary Entertainment. (Here's hoping these two gents give Mary something to be proud of!)

Pic, which starts shooting this Monday in Vancouver, revolves around an FBI agent (Hauser) who goes undercover and gets in good with "the world's most powerful crime syndicate." However, once he's in the loop, his bosses assign him the task of torturing one of their accountants (Fishburne). I'm not sure if FBI agents are allowed to torture people while undercover, but I am sure the situation will provide plenty of juicy conflict. "Hey man, I'm going to whip you with these chains. Since, technically, I'm using them for work, can I write that off?" Nolan Lebovitz (whose last big-screen credit was on something called Dr. Benny) will direct off his own script. What I want to know is at what point do we throw our hands up and admit that the whole torture genre has run its course? Are you folks still interested in this stuff? Does it still scare you?