the ministers Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Michael Jackson's This Is It
This documentary is built from interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of Michael Jackson shortly before his death as he was preparing for his upcoming tour. I wasn't a fan of his music, but I'm sure the many who were will flock to this when it releases on October 28.




May the Best Man Win
Comedy in which two men compete for the honor of being best man at their other friend's wedding. Shot in faux documentary style and with a superficial resemblance to the plot of I Love You Man, this looks modestly entertaining at best. We'll find out for sure on September 9.

Paranormal Activity
Yet another shaky cam pseudo reality horror flick, this time concerning a family moving into a home that appears to be occupied by a demonic force of some kind. Speaking as someone who enjoys a good creep out, this one looks REALLY good. It goes into limited release on September 25.

Franc. Reyes is the man responsible for the 2002 crime flick, Empire, which starred the likes of John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Vincent Laresca and Isabella Rossellini. (Oh, and by the way, the period after his first name is supposed to be there. I don't know why, and neither does our Erik Davis.) Despite the film's cast, the movie got less-than-stellar reviews. Undeterred, the writer/director is following it up with The Ministers, which is currently filming in New York City. At first, it was looking to be a feature free of big names, besides the return of Leguizamo. Now it seems that the film will be topped off with one more -- Harvey Keitel.

The film centers on a female NYPD detective who lost her father years ago to a group named the Ministers. When the group reinvigorates their killing ways, she attempts to avenge her father's death. Unbeknownst to her, she is already romantically involved with one of the Ministers. Keitel is close to signing a deal to be one of the good-guy cops. However, "an unfortunate incident" sends him on another life path. That's all sorts of ambiguous. I'm not sure if that is suggesting that he's gone bad and is, perhaps, one of the Ministers, or if it's something more mundane. Regardless, we'll see a lot of Keitel in 2007, although I suspect not in his infamous full-frontal fashion, as he has 3 other films coming up this year -- My Sexiest Year, National Treasure: The Book of Secrets and The Dust of Time.

Odds and ends from Monday:

• Hey, what's up with Sarah Michelle Gellar and her recent addiction to horror remakes? Seriously, did the Scooby Doo franchise run out of storylines or what? Not only do we know what she did last summer, but there's a good chance we already know what she'll be doing for the next five summers. Geez Sarah, how about we switch it up a bit? Anyway, Lee Pace has signed on to star opposite Gellar in Addicted, a film "loosely based" on the 2002 South Korean pic Jungdok. Story revolves around a wife (Gellar) whose husband and brother-in-law both end up in a coma. However, when the brother-in-law wakes up, he becomes convinced Gellar is his wife. While we're not sure which man Pace will play, I've already started a petition asking filmmakers not to cast Freddy Prinze Jr. as the other guy. Want in?
• Unlike Gellar, John Leguizamo is an actor who's constantly searching for different material. According to Production Weekly, Leguizamo is close to starring in The Ministers, a thriller to be directed by Franc. Reyes. (Dude, what's up with the period at the end of your first name? Strange? Sort of? Whaddya think?) The script (which was penned by Reyes) centers around a female NYPD detective whose father was killed by a mysterious religious group named "The Ministers." After the group begins killing again, our hero is ordered to stay away from the case ... although it may already be too late (read: she's sleeping with one of "The Ministers").
• Over the last few days, folks have been speculating as to who and how David Lynch's new film Inland Empire would be distributed. Well, according to Coming Soon, Lynch will -- drum roll please --distribute the film himself. That's right, Lynch has secured the US and Canadian rights to his film with plans to release Inland Empire on 6000 screens tomorrow. Okay, the last part was a joke, but since we're talking Lynch here, I imagine anything is possible. Says Empire producer Mary Sweeney, "David's decision to explore a new model of distribution is consistent with the fearless way in which he made Inland Empire." No word yet on when and where folks will be able to catch The Three-Hour Lynch Experience (yes, in a perfect world that would be the film's title and it would only play in IMAX theaters), though Cinematical will let you know as soon as more information is available.