We don’t know what rock we’ve been sleeping under, but thankfully, we found out about the Aussie film Animal Kingdom, before it passed us by. Early reviews have been fantastic and especially glowing for Australian acting legend Jacki Weaver.
Here’s the scoop: The Cody family led by matriarch, Smurf (Jacki Werner), bring her innocent grandson, J into the family business—–armed robbery. But tensions are on the brink of exploding between the family, felons and renegade cops.
Ben Mendelsohn plays Pope, the oldest brother of the Cody clan, who tries unsuccessfully to come to terms with the fact that his partner and best friend, Barry ‘Baz’ Brown (Joel Edgerton), wants out of the game. Craig (Sullivan Stapleton), the middle brother with a hair trigger, deals and does cocaine while the youngest brother Darren (Luke Ford) fights with his conscience as he participates in the family business. All of them are adored, sustained and supported by Smurf, who seems to be pulling the strings.
Guy Pearce plays senior police officer Nathan Leckie, who, recognizing that J’s youth and inexperience might well prove to be the key to finally conquering the Codys, tries to lure him into the fold after the death of a close associate. In order to survive, J must determine how the game is played and choose his place in this cunning and brutal animal kingdom.
Check out the official website here and follow the film on Facebook here. Mark your calendar for the release date August 13th and enjoy the trailer below.
Enjoy some clips from our interview with Davis Guggenheim, as we talk about out how “It Might Get Loud ” came together and why this music documentary is different than most. Then watch the trailer and get your ticket for the opening on Friday the 14th.
It’s been called “a real-life ‘M*A*S*H.’ Two-time Oscar-winning director Terry Sanders went to Iraq and Afghanistan to shoot “Fighting For Life,”, a powerful, sobering and emotional documentary of American military medicine interweaving three stories: 21 year old Army Specialist Crystal Davis who must “bounce back” after losing a leg, military doctors, nurses and medics, working with skill, compassion and dedication amidst the vortex of the Iraq War and students at USU, the “West Point” of military medicine, on their journey toward becoming career military physicians.
The filmakers had extraordinary access to military hospitals, combat support hospitals in Iraq, medevac flights with wounded soldiers and to the people who’s stories they are telling. The Village Voice called it “staggeringly affecting” and Tom Hanks said of the combat medics, “Some of them are funny. Some are good-looking. Some are modest. Some are filled with hubris. They are all heroes.” Learn more about the movie here. Take a look at the powerful trailer below.
Sorry for that headline. It’s our twisted homage to Gene Shalit. This weeks dvd releases are Wendy and Lucy and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Wendy and Lucy is one of those indie movies that you either love or hate. Here’s the story: a woman’s life is derailed en route to a potentially lucrative summer job. Then her car breaks down, and her dog is taken to the pound, and the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she is led through a series of increasingly dire economic decisions. Michelle Williams gives another great performance but the movie is slow. We say “see it”, but take a peek at the trailer below to decide for yourself.
Benjamin Button is aging backward and given little hope of survival. But, he’s Brad Pitt and there’s a movie to be made here people, so of course you know he’s going to get more handsome and fall in love with the beautiful Cate Blanchett (Daisy). It’s the kind of heartwarming fantasy/love story/ fable that makes for e a great movie. And, we can’t forget the Oscar nominated performance of Taraji P. Henson as the woman who cares for Benjamin, Queenie . Enjoy the video review by Mr. Gene Shalit below.
Now if you don’t feel like getting out the hankies this weekend, kick some ass with Liam Neeson in Taken.
Liam Neeson is a CIA badass who must rescue his daughter after she is kidnapped in Paris by human traffickers. It’s a solid film that won’t make you feel like you wasted your time or money. Although, you may wish that his daughter stayed kidnapped at times. Enjoy the trailer below.
Kate Winslet won a well deserved Oscar back in February for her performance in The Reader. It’s not your typical good vs. evil story. Instead, we are taken on a journey about humanity and shown why people make the choices they do.
Winslet’s touching and believable performance of a conflicted guard who starts a sexual relationship with a much younger man who reads to her in bed is unforgettable.
Our Hidden Gem this week is American Swing, adocumentary about the rise and fall of Plato’s Retreat, the infamous Manhattan sex club of the ’70s and ’80s. There aren’t a lot of pretty people in this film and that adds to the grit of what was really going on, From the middle-class exhibitionism to the bad lasagna-and-chicken buffet, the film brilliantly captures that hedonistic moment in time.
