famke janssen Tagged Articles at Cinematical

We've been pretty hard around here on a certain movie with adamantium claws. Yes, whenever I'm reminded of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray today, I wish I had been shot with amnesia bullets. Still, I appreciated Hugh Jackman's determined efforts to stay out of the damn costume. Whenever Wolverine has donned a uniform in the previous X-Men flicks, he looks like he can't wait to rip it off. In his natural state, as the wandering, memory-challenged Logan, he repels latex like Congress repels taxpayers.

Most actors quickly declare that the biggest challenge in superhero movies is the costume: how to avoid looking sheepish or silly while wearing a form-fitting, custom-made suit that may reveal more than most of us are willing to bare at the beach? With advanced, super-realistic, computerized special effects and ripped body / stunt doubles available as needed, though, I think the bigger challenge lies in bringing the secret identities of superheroes to life: all those moments when supposedly normal people are leading supposedly "normal" lives.

Who, then are the most convincing superheroes without costumes? What actors and actresses have made you believe that their very human characters on screen could transform into larger-than-life heroes and/or heroines with a quick dash into a phone booth? Mind you, I'm not just talking Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen ...

1. Famke Janssen as Jean Gray in X-Men
She cuts a fine figure, doesn't she? Famke Janssen is undoubtedly sexier than Wolverine when they both suit up, yet she really shines whenever she's using her brain -- which is all the time. She doesn't need the costume to be one of the smartest, most empathetic, and most lethal people, in the universe.

For the past several years, there has been a tug-of-war in the world of action films. Some, like the Jason Bourne and recent James Bond movies, have sought to establish moodier, more introspective heroes who face realistic dilemmas in the midst of the usual shooting and car chases. Others, like Shoot 'em Up, Crank, and The Transporter, have gone the other way, decreasing characterization to almost nothing and focusing entirely on over-the-top action. Both philosophies are viable; the only problem is when a film tries to have it both ways, like Quantum of Solace and Transporter 3 did.

It's very pleasing, then, that after playing nearly everywhere else in the world, the French-produced (but English-language) Taken has finally come to American shores, where it is welcome as a delightfully dizzying balm to soothe the pain inflicted by recent action films that have failed to deliver. It subscribes to the less-talk-more-rock school of thought, intentionally free of nuance but overbrimming with relentless, efficient, energetic mayhem. It plays out like a season of 24, crammed into 90 minutes.

Our Jack Bauer is named Bryan Mills, played by Liam Neeson -- and yes, they found a way to make Oskar Schindler into an action hero. Mills used to be a CIA operative, but he quit and moved to Los Angeles to be closer to his teenage daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), who lives there with her mother (Famke Janssen) and filthy-rich stepfather (Xander Berkeley). Mills regrets letting his work ruin his family life, and he wants to make up for lost time.

Cinematical is absolutely stoked to have received this exclusive poster for The Wackness (click on the image to enlarge), which just enjoyed its New Yawk premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival earlier this week. Directed by the very talented Jonathan Levine (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane), The Wackness centers on the relationship between a pot dealer with no friends (Josh Peck) and a therapist (Ben Kingsley) on the verge of a mid-life crisis. And did I mention that neither one is getting laid? Set in 1994 New York City, the film just oozes mid-nineties and definitely captures every ounce of what it was like to grow up during that particular time period. Olivia Thirlby, Famke Janssen and Mary-Kate Olsen also star (as the three lovely ladies our two heroes really want to get with).

I managed to catch The Wackness at a screening a few days ago with a young, hip New York crowd who absolutely devoured the flick. It's dope, it's mad funny and it brings just enough nostalgia to help you remember what it was like when you were unlucky and in love with not a clue what to do. Seriously, go see this one with a group of friends and have a blast. The Wackness arrives in theaters on July 3.

Finally, a film for kids of the 90's!

This is a hard review to write because it feels as if The Wackness was tailor-made for people like me: a male who grew up in New York City and graduated high school in 1994; the year this film was set. (Actually, I graduated in 1995, but it doesn't matter much: same kids, same lingo, same music, same surroundings). How do you review your childhood? These were all kids I hung out with, this was the music we listened to, these were the mix tapes we made and these were the girls we tried to hook up with ... but didn't. And, to some extent, it actually surprises me that so many people have loved The Wackness -- not because it's a terrible movie, mind you, but because kids who grew up in New York City during the '90s were annoying as all hell, with their "Yo, that was mad good" and their "He's got da skillz, kid!" Trust me, I know -- I was one of them.

It's 1994, New York City. Luke (Josh Peck) just graduated high school, and now he's perfectly content with spending his summer fantasizing about girls on the subway, staying away from his parents constant bickering and selling pot out of an ices cart to a wide range of characters, including a free-spirited hippie chick (Mary-Kate Olsen) and his own therapist. Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley), or as Luke calls him, Mr. Dr. Squires, has his own problems: His much younger wife (Famke Janssen) emotionally checked out of their marriage years ago, and a mid-life crisis is slowly creeping up from around the corner. Luke's the pot dealer with no friends, and Squires is the therapist with more issues than most of his patients. Together, they're a perfect match.

Ben Kingsley, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Method Man. For years, Hollywood has been trying to get these three in a picture together. It's a perfect fit -- Sir Ben Kingsley is one of the most respected actors in the game, a three-time Academy Award nominee and winner of the 1983 Best Actor Oscar for his legendary performance in Gandhi. Two-time Razzie Award nominee Mary-Kate Olsen lit up television screens with her gritty, uncompromising work in 1999's You're Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley's Fashion Party. Method Man...smokes a lot of weed. And these three dynamos are joining forces, for what I think it's safe to say will be the one and only time, on a new movie called The Wackness.

So what in God's name is The Wackness? The comedy, currently filming in New York, takes place in 1994 (guess it's a period piece), and according to Variety the film will be about "a troubled teenage drug dealer and a drug-addled psychiatrist." The drug dealer trades marijuana for therapy sessions, falls in love with the psychiatrist's daughter, and you've got yourself a movie! I would imagine Kingsley plays the psychiatrist, but that's just speculation. Rounding out this bizarre cast are Josh Peck (star of Nickelodeon's Drake and Josh, as well as Mean Creek, which I loved), Famke Janssen (probably best known as Jean Grey in the X-Men series), and Olivia Thirlby (of United 93 and NBC's failed drama Kidnapped). The film was written and is being directed by Jonathan Levine, who got a lot of notice with his much-delayed horror flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (read James' positive review here). I don't even know what to expect with this cast, but I'm definitely intrigued.

Some enterprising photographer recently noticed that Dekalb Avenue in Brooklyn, in front of Long Island University, was the scene of filming on Famke Janssen's new movie 100 Feet, and started snapping photos. To be honest, there's not really a lot here -- just a photo of Janssen and Bobby Cannavale cooling their heels between takes, and one of director Eric Red giving some kind of guidance to a crew member during a set-up. If anyone out there is hanging around this area of Brooklyn, and the crew is still there, snap some more photos for us! Back in February we passed on to you the news of Janssen's casting, and referred to the film as a 'haunted house thriller.' We also noted that director Red had gone on record as saying he wanted to evoke Audrey Hepburn's performance in Wait Until Dark with this film. For those who haven't seen it, Wait Until Dark is about a blind woman who becomes the target of a gang of burglars.

The most updated plot description of 100 Feet is that it's about a woman named Marnie (Janssen) who is granted an early release from prison after killing her crazy husband in self defense, on the condition that she wear one of those Disturbia bracelets. Once confined to her apartment, she finds herself dealing with two problems -- the crazy partner of her crazy dead husband, who wants to take revenge on her for that killing, and the actual ghost of her dead husband, who isn't finished with her either. "100 Feet" refers to the range of her ankle monitor thing.

I've never seen any of the films written or directed by Eric Red -- unlike Scott, who is a big fan -- but I like the sound of his comeback effort, 100 Feet. It involves a woman under house arrest for killing her abusive husband, who just so happens to be haunting the house she can't leave. Sounds like a combination of Cherish, Double Jeopardy and The Gravedancers, all of which I enjoyed to some degree (and two of which starred cast members of Prison Break -- not that this is important).

Now, in addition to liking the premise, I like the star of 100 Feet, too. JoBlo.com exclusively announced that Famke Janssen will play the captive/terrorized woman, and the site quoted Red as saying he plans for her to evoke Audrey Hepburn's Oscar-nominated performance in Wait Until Dark. I like Janssen a lot and think she's due for a role that takes her acting talents serious, but I doubt this will get her that level of acclaim. I do believe she will do a good job of carrying the film and its potentially emotional scenes, hopefully enough that it will propel her toward other work that will get so recognized. After all, she's a better actress than her two female teammates in the X-Men movies, and both of them have Academy Awards.

Take a healthy dose of The Poseidon Adventure, mix it with an unconvincing (but still effective) dash of Indiana Jones-ism, sprinkle the concoction with a goofy sense of humor -- and then throw in a whole lot of guns, gore and amazingly goopy creatures. Voila! You've just made a movie that's just as good as Stephen Sommers' Deep Rising! (Heck, maybe better!)

Starring the rectangle-jawed and entirely likeable Treat Williams as a typically rascally hero-guy, the never-more-beautiful Famke Janssen as a mega-sexy thief, and a whole bunch of colorful character actors who are given maybe eight lines of dialogue and one personality trait apiece, Deep Rising is the flick Sommers made before he hit the big-time with his off-kilter rendition of The Mummy -- which he promptly followed up with two certifiable dung-heaps: The Migraine Returns and the unwatchable Van Hellstink. (Prior to Deep Rising, Sommers directed a pair of flicks for Disney: The Adventures of Huck Finn and The Jungle Book.)

So that's six whole movies that Stephen Sommers has written/directed, and yet the only one I can go back to for repeat viewings is 1998's Deep Rising. Ostensibly a monster movie in a disaster flick suit, DR benefits from a quick pace, a good deal of action, some strong doses of very visual viscera and a bunch of actors who are clearly playing the piece with tongue planted firmly in cheek. You want to talk about plotholes, lackluster editing and a general lack of actual story, I'd listen and probably agree; Deep Rising is a genre flick that wears its glitches firmly on its sleeve (and some of the CGI is really weak) but it still moves forward with such playful abandon that I'm more than willing to overlook the rough spots (most of which arrive in Act III and during a powerfully chintzy-looking epilogue) and just enjoy the flick as snack food for the cerebellum.

Plus it stands as a reminder that Sommers can get a little gritty and nasty sometimes ... when he's not beholden to a $200 million budget and forever chasing the Holy Grail that is the PG-13 rating.

There is a long tradition of the mid-life crisis movie -- audiences seem to respond to watching a breakdown from a safe distance. City living, suburban boredom, family crisis -- all of these can be the source of a good old-fashioned film freak-out. Throw in a wacky psychiatrist a la Running With Scissors, and you've got yourself a movie.

Variety has announced that New Yorker Films has made a distribution deal for Oren Rudavsky's The Treatment. The film is based on the Daniel Menaker's novel of the same name and follows an upscale private school professor and his relationship with an unconventional therapist. The film stars Famke Janssen, Chris Eigeman and Ian Holm with a script penned by Rudayvsky and Daniel Saul Housman. The film sounds like your typical urbanite in crisis story with plenty of quirky observations about family, psychiatry, and urban isolation.

Films like The Treatment don't break any new ground with their subject matter; Woody Allen has pretty much made a career out of the male mid-life crisis, so I think he's got it covered. New Yorker films better hope they've hit the right combination of actors, writer and director to make this story worth the re-visit.

Hot on the heels of the Robert Downey Jr. casting news (he's Iron Man now, if you missed it) comes another major casting rumor for Jon Favreau's Iron Man flick -- and once again it is a big one. Got a big grain of salt handy? Good. Grab it and keep it close for this one, because as of right now it is nothing more than a big old rumor. CanMag received two separate email tips suggesting Tony Stark will have a love interest in the film (no big surprise there, love interests are a rather common plot device). What is more interesting is the name currently attached to said love interest. Ready for this? None other than Famke Janssen, previously of X-Men fame. Although Janssen has a history of working with Favreau, one would think playing two major roles in separate Marvel flicks would be a bit ... unusual, because theoretically we are talking about the same universe here, and I don't think Jean Grey has a twin sister running around putting the moves on Iron Man. Granted, we probably won't ever run into a situation which would require both characters to be in the same movie, but the point remains a strong one.