jordana brewster Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I was originally going to start out this post by going off on those studios that habitually change dates on their releases and wait until the last minute to do so. Instead, I'll try to remain positive and emphasize one particular studio that has given us a head's up on the shuffling of their 2009 slate: Universal.

Of utmost priority is director Joe Johnston and star Benicio del Toro's take on The Wolfman, which has been bumped back from this spring to next November (not unlike The Box). Usually, such shuffling might seem like a bad thing, but about six more months to polish what I'm guessing are so very many special effects sounds like a fair enough compromise (which isn't to suggest that Oscar-winning make-up wizard Rick Baker didn't do a fine job the first time around). Also moving back is Ridley Scott's Nottingham, now pushed to a TBD date in 2010.

I suspect that this trailer for Fast and Furious -- that's The Fast and the Furious, Part IV: Articles Result in Wind Resistance, or 2 Fast 2 Furious x 2 -- just made a wide number of gearheads moist over the triumphant return of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker as they drive fast and glare hard in a combined effort to save their careers.

Diesel and Walker find themselves reunited with Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster of the hollow but entertaining original, and the whole photogenic ensemble find themselves directed by Justin Lin, a.k.a. the guy they brought in to direct the hollow but tiresome three-quel that none of these actors were themselves a part of (okay, so Diesel made the briefest cameo, yippee for that). The stunts, though, appear to be more along the practical lines of the first two films, so perhaps a happy medium can be struck between their relative entertainment value and the numbing antics of Tokyo Drift.

Fast and Furious leaves skid marks in theaters next June.

Well, if you have a soft spot for the Fast and Furious franchise, then I'm sure the above picture will make you feel warm and fuzzy all over -- or, at the very least, just a little nostalgic. Sure we got to see some photos of cars, but blurry shots of a few cars was hardly the scoop of the century. At least now we're getting the first official stills (courtesy of USA Today) from the fourth installment of the racing franchise. So for anyone who might have missed those earlier shots, here is your chance to see Toretto (Vin Diesel) and O'Connor (Paul Walker) together again. Furious also brings together writer/director Justin Lin (who directed the third installment of the series) with series vets Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez (reprising their original roles).

For the latest film in the series, Diesel's underground racer and Walker's undercover cop will reunite to take down a common enemy. There was some early speculation -- possible spoiler warning -- surrounding the return (and reported demise) of Rodriguez's character, Letty, and there were even some photos floating around that would support the theory. Either way, I'm not one of those people who feed off spoilers, so I'm going to let that particular plot point stay a mystery for now. But since I'm not the type to judge, you can take a look here -- but don't say I didn't warn you.

Fast and Furious will arrive in theaters on June 5th, 2009.

For fans of The Fast and the Furious franchise, there were still a few pretty big questions hanging over the movie. Mainly, just what exactly was this movie going to be about ... other than fast cars that look real cool when they go real fast? Well, wonder no longer because Universal has announced the official title and the final plot synopsis for the latest installment of the racing franchise. Now titled Fast and Furious (yo, they left out the 'the!'), the story centers on reuniting Dom Torretto (Vin Diesel) and agent Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) along with vets from the first film (Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez).

According to Universal's description, "When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O'Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmanuever him."

So far there have been a few on-set photos, and don't forget there was an early script review from Latino Review back in November. It would seem that it might have been legit since it got some of the details right (including some spoilerific details regarding the fate of Rodrgiuez's character, Letty). Director Justin Lin is already talking about making one more film before retiring the series, but we'll have to wait to see how high gas prices climb first. Fast and Furious will arrive in theaters on June 5, 2009.

She might have a degree from Yale, a grandfather who used to be president of the university, and bilingual talents, but Jordana Brewster is known for her looks, her mid-range spots on Maxim Hot 100 lists, and flicks like The Faculty, The Fast and the Furious, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. If you were expecting her to take on something a little more meaty, perhaps something along the route of Ellen Page, keep waiting. Moviehole has posted that the current rumor mill has her in talks for Fast and the Furious 4, which Erik brought word of here. Warning: what follows below is information about the plot, if Moviehole sources are right. If you'd like to just think of a fast and furious future with cars and intrigue, without plot points, jump to the next story. If you want more info, keep reading.

So, since Brian let Dominic go at the beginning of the first film, he's been repenting in a monastery and hiding from his bosses. Now that this cushion of fib is out of the way, here's what Moviehole says about the plot: Mia (Brewster) is back for less-than-happy reasons. Michelle Rodriguez's character is gone, having crashed and burned (an eerie link to the possibilities of her driving in real life), and Mia has to deliver Letty's car to her brother, Dominic. Meanwhile, Brian has served time for letting D go, but is getting an out -- if he stops Braga, a crime boss and drug importer, he's free. If you want even more particulars, check out the source. So yeah, the flick should do well -- it's got all the basics for crime, action, sexiness, and a whole new collection of MTV awards.

It's an awesome week for DVD collectors: new box sets devoted to Stanley Kubrick and Mario Bava; new Criterion Collection versions of Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless, Terence Malick's Days of Heaven and John Huston's Under the Volcano; new editions of Russian silent classic Battleship Potemkim, Brit schoolboy classic O Lucky Man!, horror "classic" Hellraiser, bizarre and wondrous animation Fantastic Planet and the first appearance of paranoid conspiracy thriller Executive Action on DVD.

On the indie side of things, Wild Style gets a 25th Anniversary Edition from Rhino. Director Charlie Ahearn captured rap in its South Bronx infancy, expressed in words, music, dance and subway graffiti. This is a vital, exciting doc. The latest DVD features an audio commentary plus bonus material and deleted scenes provided by Ahearn.

Dog Bite Dog (pictured) is a terrific, ferocious, dark and dank Hong Kong action pic that taps into the worst impulses of cops chasing criminals. It's a throwback to early 90s adult thrillers ("Category III" by Hong Kong rating standards) with standout performances by Sam Lee as an insanely dedicated inspector and Edison Chen as a feral, imported assassin. Cheang Pou-Soi directed. Dragon Dynasty's two-disk special edition features audio commentary by Chen and industry vet Bey Logan and five "making of" features. Note that Dragon Dynasty rental editions, featured exclusively at Blockbuster, only include one disk.

Coming of age tale Nearing Grace features Gregory Smith as a likable hero, Jordana Brewster as a teen vixen, and David Morse and David Moscow as family members falling apart . It's a modest period drama, set in 1978, with modest charms that never transcends its familiar premise, but is pleasant viewing if you're in a nostalgic mood or a fan of the actors. Look for the DVD from Vivendi Visual Entertainment.

When I heard that director Doug Liman and screenwriter Simon Kinberg were planning to bring their Mr. & Mrs. Smith to network television, my brain spit out a pair of automatic responses: 1. Hmm, guess that means no sequel any time soon, and 2. I wonder who they'll get to play the roles made famous by the stunningly photogenic pair known as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Well, based on the news that Moviehole.net just dished out, the female half of the equation has been set ... and it's a lovely one indeed.

Panamanian mega-cutie Jordana Brewster has been cast as Mrs. Smith. And if the name and this pic aren't enough to jog your memory, I'm hoping you'll remember the beautiful Ms. Brewster from her work in movies like The Faculty, The Fast and the Furious, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and (ugh) Annapolis. For those looking for some evidence as to Jordana's skills with quips and/or guns, feel free to give the sunny little indie flick D.E.B.S. a rental. (Not a great film, but a colorfully fun one.)

No word yet on who'll be playing Mrs. Smith's other half when the duo hits the small screen, but I'd be expecting an announcement sooner than later: ABC wants to have the Smith series ready for broadcast this autumn.

The Texas Chainsaw franchise has either roared through the box office or limped along, by turns, since 1974. I'm sure Tobe Hooper, Kim Henkel and other cast and crew involved with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre had no idea it would spawn three sequels, a remake, and now a prequel: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. (Hooper and Henkel are listed as executive producers on this latest film, but seem to have little to do anymore with the series.)

I'd heard that Beginning would recount the story of Leatherface and his family (the Hewitts) before those days when the young people in the van picked up a hitchhiker and ended up in a world of trouble ... and chainsaws. I imagined the prequel would recount the story of young Tommy "Leatherface" Hewitt growing up -- would it be an idyllic childhood, spoiled by some traumatic event or would he have a miserable youth, taunted and mocked endlessly until he had an epiphany, perhaps while sawing firewood? Perhaps he was a child genius who suffered some tragic accident. The imagination presents so many possibilities.

However, in Beginning, Tommy Hewitt's birth and childhood are disposed of quickly during the opening credits. In fact, the opening credit sequence was one of my favorite parts of the film -- a smooth, intriguing montage hinting that Tommy was considered a disturbed child by teachers and doctors, practically from birth. His birth, in the teaser before the credits, is also a fascinating little story.

D.E.B.S., about a group of schoolgirl secret agents, originally debuted in 2003 as a short and did quite well, scoring wins at a slew of festivals (mostly fests of LBGT films). In 2004, director Angela Robinson (who most recently brought us Herbie Fully Loaded) remade the short as a feature using some of the original cast members, and the result is the glorious bit of cinematic silliness known as D.E.B.S.

If you've ever seen D.E.B.S., you know exactly what I'm talking about, but if you've never seen it, well, imagine this: Charlie's Angels in high school, with short-skirt schoolgirl uniforms, high kicks, and lesbian love scenes. What makes D.E.B.S. a not-so-horrible film is that it doesn't take itself seriously in the slightest, and so when you laugh, you're really laughing with it and not at it. Mostly. I mean, there's only so much you expect to get out of a film with the tagline: "They're crime-fighting hotties with killer bodies."

The basic plot involves this group of schoolgirls (the lithe and sexy kind, natch, because it wouldn't be fun with pimply schoolgirls wearing neck and back braces ala Joan Cusack in Sixteen Candles) who are chosen for training in an elite national-defense group. Ahem. Now, honestly, the plot is just ridiculous, but that didn't stop me from loving Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I also admit to occasionally paying attention to the Cartoon Network's squeaky-clean, lesbian-free schoolgirl-spy show, Totally Spies. D.E.B.S. starts picking up when perky blonde team leader Amy (Sara Foster) discovers she's having nefarious feelings for sexy brunette bad girl Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster, in a great performance).

However silly it may be, D.E.B.S. is just plain fun. You just know, don't you, that bad-girl Lucy is going to tempt super-spy Amy away from the path of goodness, and that Amy will find the badness good (there's probably an adult-film knock-off of D.E.B.S. out there somewhere -- not since Princess Leia pranced around in that gold bikini has a film so blatantly pandered to the "hormone effect"). D.E.B.S. is as much fun, in its own way, as a John Hughes teen flick or a Grease/Grease 2 double-feature -- a campy good time with a sly wink on the side. If you haven't seen it, get a group of friends together with some beer or wine, and have fun.

It's a college movie. No, it's a boot-camp movie. Wait, it's both. Annapolis takes place at the U.S. Naval Academy (commonly called Annapolis) in Maryland, one of the five American institutions of higher education for kids who just can't seem to make up their mind whether to join the armed forces or attend university following high school. Well, that is putting it rather simply. Like the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Annapolis preps its students to become officers in its respective branch of the military in addition to awarding them bachelor degrees. It doesn't charge tuition — in fact it pays those enrolled a weekly salary — but the Naval Academy is one or the toughest schools to get into, and it is even tougher to remain in.

This doesn't stop Jake Huard (James Franco), one of the incoming freshman, or plebes, in Annapolis' class of 2008. He manages to be admitted despite his lack of good grades. I assume he also falls short in the areas of SAT and ACT scores, leadership experience and any number of other expectations the school is likely to have of its applicants. What he does have is a dream, which he's had since he first laid eyes on the campus from his home across the river, as well as a nomination from a congressman — a requirement, not a guarantee, for acceptance. Oh, and he likes to box.