In the hyper-intelligent comedy PUNCHING HENRY, a journeyman comedian is lured to Los Angeles by a TV producer who wants to make him a reality star. As reality sets in, he must decide whether his legacy will be to tell jokes for a living or become the butt of them. With an all-star cast, including Henry Phillips (Punching the Clown), stand-up comics Tig Notaro, Jim Jefferies and Doug Stanhope; Clifton Collins Jr. (Pacific Rim), with Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back) and Academy Award® winner J.K. Simmons (Best Supporting Actor, Whiplash, 2014), PUNCHING HENRY is a hilarious and heartwarming glimpse behind the curtain of the weird world of comedy. The film debuts on Blu-ray™ April 18 from Well Go USA Entertainment.
Now you can own PUNCHING HENRY. We Are Movie Geeks has two copies of the PUNCHING HENRY Blu-ray to give away.All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite movie starring J.K. Simmons? (mine is WHIPLASH!). It’s so easy!
Good Luck!
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES. NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.
2. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.
Bonus materials include deleted scenes and two behind-the-scenes featurettes: “Brendon Walsh Suffers” and “Stupid Joe.”
Synopsis:
In this hyper-intelligent comedy, a journeyman comedian is lured to L.A. by a TV producer
(J.K. Simmons, Whiplash) who wants to make him a reality star. As reality sets in, he must decide whether his legacy will be to tell jokes for a living or become the butt of them.
The mind-bending war thriller Man Down is now available on Digital HD and Blu-ray (plus Digital HD), DVD and On Demand from Lionsgate. Shia LaBeouf stars as a former U.S. Marine who returns home from Afghanistan to a completely different world, and sets out on a mission to find his estranged wife and son. Nominated for Best Film at the 2015 Venice Film Festival, this psychological suspense-thriller features stellar performances from Jai Courtney, Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman (Best Leading Actor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 2011), Emmy nominee Kate Mara (Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Netflix’s “House of Cards,” 2014) and Emmy nominee Clifton Collins Jr. (Outstanding Supporting Actor, Thief, 2006). Now, you can own the MAN DOWN Blu-ray. WAMG has three copies to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite movie that features Shia LaBeouf? (mine is FURY). It’s so easy!
Good Luck!
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES. NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.
2. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.
No purchase necessary
When U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf) returns home from his tour in Afghanistan, he finds that the place he once called home is no better than the battlefields he fought on overseas. Accompanied by his best friend Devin Roberts (Jai Courtney), a hard-nosed Marine whose natural instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later, he searches desperately for the location of his estranged son, Johnathan (Charlie Shotwell), and wife Natalie (Kate Mara). In their search, the two intercept Charles (Clifton Collins Jr.), a man carrying vital information about the whereabouts of Gabriel’s family. As we revisit the past, we are guided in unraveling the puzzle of Gabriel’s experience and what will eventually lead us to finding his family.
BLU-RAY/DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary
CAST
Shia LaBeouf Transformers franchise, American Honey, Nymphomaniac
Jai Courtney Divergent series, Suicide Squad, Terminator Genisys
Gary Oldman Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Criminal, The Dark Knight franchise
Kate Mara Netflix’s “House Of Cards,” The Martian, Fantastic Four
and Clifton Collins Jr. HBO’s “Westworld,” Pacific Rim, Star Trek
The mind-bending war thriller Man Down heads home on Digital HD on February 21 and Blu-ray (plus Digital HD), DVD and On Demand on March 7 from Lionsgate. Shia LaBeouf stars as a former U.S. Marine who returns home from Afghanistan to a completely different world, and sets out on a mission to find his estranged wife and son. Nominated for Best Film at the 2015 Venice Film Festival, this psychological suspense-thriller features stellar performances from Jai Courtney, Academy Award®nominee Gary Oldman (Best Leading Actor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 2011), Emmy® nominee Kate Mara (Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Netflix’s “House of Cards,” 2014) and Emmy® nominee Clifton Collins Jr. (Outstanding Supporting Actor, Thief, 2006). The Man Down Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively.
When U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf) returns home from his tour in Afghanistan, he finds that the place he once called home is no better than the battlefields he fought on overseas. Accompanied by his best friend Devin Roberts (Jai Courtney), a hard-nosed Marine whose natural instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later, he searches desperately for the location of his estranged son, Johnathan (Charlie Shotwell), and wife Natalie (Kate Mara). In their search, the two intercept Charles (Clifton Collins Jr.), a man carrying vital information about the whereabouts of Gabriel’s family. As we revisit the past, we are guided in unraveling the puzzle of Gabriel’s experience and what will eventually lead us to finding his family.
BLU-RAY/DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary
CAST
Shia LaBeouf Transformers franchise, American Honey, Nymphomaniac
Jai Courtney Divergent series, Suicide Squad, Terminator Genisys
Gary Oldman Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Criminal, The Dark Knight franchise
Kate Mara Netflix’s “House Of Cards,” The Martian, Fantastic Four
and Clifton Collins Jr. HBO’s “Westworld,” Pacific Rim, Star Trek
With just a few weeks to go in 2016, it’s time to hit the sand with another film set in the (seems like) ongoing hotspot of the world, the Middle East. And while the recent ALLIED was set in the days of the second world war, this one deals with the current conflict. This time of year has been the release time for several of those armed forces features. Winter of 2013 had LONE SURVIVOR while the following year AMERICAN SNIPER was a surprise box office smash. Odd, that this year we’ve seen three comedies use the war as a backdrop. There was WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT, WAR DOGS, and BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK (it might be a comedy, who knows?). But things are very grim and dour as Shia La Beouf reunites with writer/director Dito Montiel nearly ten years after A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS for the drama MAN DOWN.
But there’s more than a touch of I AM LEGEND/ MAD MAX desolation at the start of the film. A major metropolis appears nearly deserted as heavily bearded soldiers Gabriel (LaBeouf) and Devin (Jai Courtney) scour the empty streets, chatting on their shoulder-coms while gripping their firearms. As night falls, they see a light in a building. Gabriel evades guards and finds his nine year-old son Johnathan held as a prisoner. As they escape the film quickly flashes back to earlier days as clean-shaven marine Gabriel is in the mobile office of Counselor Payton (Gary Oldman) for an interview. Peyton needs to know all about “the incident” that occurred a few weeks earlier on the ground in Afghanistan. We flashback once more to Gabriel and Devin enduring the rigors of basic training at an US marine camp. Luckily Gabriel’s wife Natalie (Kate Mara) and young son Johnathan have an apartment near the base. He dotes on his little boy as Natalie fears for her hubby. Finally she hears the news she’s been dreading: Gabriel is going overseas. He’s relieved that his pal Devin, nursing a busted arm, will be looking in on his family for a few weeks. And soon Devin joins Gabriel on the battlefield, just in time to be part of a policing mission that turns deadly, the earlier mentioned “incident”. Could this ambush and its aftermath be the reason for that urban wasteland at the film’s opening scenes?
LeBeouf brings his usual hyper-focused intensity to the role of the tragic soldier/father. With his buzz-cut and haunted eyes, Gabriel is almost an avenging spirit in the battlefield and post apocalyptic sequences. But the sad loner fades when interacting with his friends and family. Courtney’s gregarious Devin is a good counterpoint to the often sullen Gabriel, although their scenes too often devolve into an “I love you man!” “bro-mance”, full of “busting b*#ls” and supportive glances. There’s a better interplay with Mara as the tough and tender Natalie, particularly as she shaves her hubby’s head while talking about standing up to the mom of a bully (“yeah, I’m a thug!”). Ultimately she’s becomes another distressed “woman on the phone” (Skype in this case). Oldman has little to do behind his desk (they almost meld) throwing out vague questions and inquiries that try to chip away at the stoic Gabriel. Clifton Collins Jr. shows up as a squirrely obstinate scavenger in those future scenes who sets the final action bits in motion.
But the cast is fighting a losing battle with the meandering, often incoherent, script from Montiel and Adam G. Gibson. The abrupt shifts in time almost inflict narrative whiplash and derail any dramatic flow. Montiel’s choice to film nearly everything in a hazy sepia tone makes almost every shot visually inert. The extended training sequences feel like warmed-over bits from AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, while the backlot-looking wartime scenes could have been dropped in from a basic cable docudrama. However, the worst is saved for the last as the film makers employ a twist that would make M. Night Shyamalan wince, followed by a denouncement incredibly overwrought and heavy-handed. A somber PSA before the end credits doesn’t make up for the wasted 90 minutes enduring this choppy, muddled mess. The creators may have had good intentions with their “message”, but they’re not served by MAN DOWN. Medic!
Violent, profane, ambitious, pretentious, overcooked and entertaining as hell, director John Hillcoat’s TRIPLE 9 presents a wide canvas of memorable characters for a satisfying urban crime drama. Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) leads a crew of dirty Atlanta cops and ex-cops (Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, and Clifton Collins Jr.) working for the “Kosher Nostra”, a mob of Russian Jews led by dragon lady Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet), who operate out of a meatpacking plant. The crooked cops are introduced pulling off an ultra-efficient bank heist for Irina, but she withholds payment until they execute another job – one she’s convinced will help spring her husband from the Russian Gulag (held there just because “Putin so fears him”) . Michael has a son with Irina’s sexy younger sister Elena (Gal Gadot), who he won’t see again unless he cooperates, so he convinces his team to break into a Homeland Security safe house, a nearly impossible mission. Michael concludes the only way to pull it off successfully is to create a 999, police code for “officer down”, as a distraction to buy them time to pull off their caper. The plan goes awry when Chris Allen (Casey Affleck), the innocent cop they set up to murder, refuses to be sacrificed, resulting in an action-packed third act complete with greedy double-crosses and bloody payback.
There’s plenty that’s familiar in TRIPLE 9 and there are portions that don’t work so well, but adrenalin junkies will appreciate the blistering pace and the careful sense of desperado tension. Hillcoat’s film is distinguished by a series of pulse-pounding dread-fueled scenes that leave the viewer perched on the edge of their seat — the tense opening bank robbery, a carefully planned police raid that quickly spirals out of control, a rolling gun battle, and three heads on the hood of a car – the result of a brutal gang execution. One major reason why I found TRIPLE 9 to be so effective is its complete messiness–there are neither tidy resolutions nor easy payoffs as the initially grim makes way for the even grimmer and almost no character is left off the hook. That all falls in line with what Hillcoat and writer Matt Cook obviously set out to do, which is to paint with grimy authenticity a warts-and-all portrait of cops and criminals and cops who are criminals. Hillcoat and Editor Dylan Tichenor do a great job of maintaining pace and suspense throughout and the remarkable cast helps to bring this sprawling web of nastiness to another level. Aaron Paul and Norman Reedus are excellent as desperate brothers, though Walking Dead fans may be disheartened at how soon their hero is dispatched. Collins Jr. and Ejiofor are especially noteworthy, and Woody Harrelson is outstanding as a drug-abusing good cop. Teresa Palmer as Chris’ wife and Gal Gadot are little more than window dressing but they both look great from behind while Casey Affleck’s performance grounds the story by making us care about the story’s single uncorrupted character. The one glaringly theatrical note is struck by a hammy Kate Winslet as the ballbusting Russian mobstress, but it’s a fun performance highlighted by repellent behavior and bright red high heels.
Whatever one’s reaction to the darkness and grit, it’s a shame that Hillcoat can’t quite maintain the film’s momentum. He effectively keeps TRIPLE 9 moving to its climactic bloodbath, which turns out to be a predictable chain of killings and not much else. The film calls to mind the nihilistic cop stories of director Antoine Fuqua such as TRAINING DAY and BROOKLYN’S FINEST with its tour through the seamy side of contemporary urban America but there is also a strong sense of the 1970s’ about it as it references the gritty police dramas of that decade, especially those from director Sidney Lumet, for its inspiration, pouring on all the realism and downbeat atmosphere movies of that era pioneered. It’s a style that suits Hillcoat and his actors well and TRIPLE 9 is recommended.
In TRIPLE 9, a crew of dirty cops is blackmailed by the Russian mob to execute a virtually impossible heist. The only way to pull it off is to manufacture a 999, police code for “officer down”. Their plan is turned upside down when the unsuspecting rookie they set up to die foils the attack, triggering a breakneck, action-packed finale filled with double-crosses, greed and revenge.
From director John Hillcoat (LAWLESS), the film stars Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Winslet and Casey Affleck, along with Aaron Paul and Norman Reedus.
TRIPLE 9 opens in theaters on February 26.
WAMG invites you to enter for a chance to win a pass (Good for 2) to the advance screening of TRIPLE 9 on Tuesday, February 23rd at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
We will contact the winners by email.
Answer the following:
An Australian film director, screenwriter, name John Hillcoat’s 2009 and 2005 films.
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWERS AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
3. No purchase necessary
RATING: R for “strong violence and language throughout, drug use and some nudity.”
Here’s a look from the set of the psychological thriller MAN DOWN starring Shia La Beouf, Gary Oldman, Kate Mara and Jai Courtney.
Currently shooting in Louisiana, the photo shows a scene with U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer played by Shia LaBeouf who is accompanied by his best friend, Devin Roberts played by Jai Courtney as they search for Drummer’s family in a savage post-apocalyptic America. In this shot, they intercept Charles, played by Clifton Collins Jr., an apocalyptic survivor.
In a savage post-apocalyptic America, U.S. Marine GABRIEL DRUMMER (La Beouf), searches desperately for the whereabouts of his estranged son, JONATHAN and wife, NATALIE (Mara). Accompanied by his best friend DEVIN ROBERTS (Courtney), a hardnosed marine whose natural instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later, the two intercept CHARLES (Clifton Collins Jr.), an apocalyptic survivor carrying vital information about the whereabouts of Gabriel’s family. As we revisit the past, we are guided in unraveling the puzzle of Gabriel’s experience and what will eventually lead us to the origin of this war torn America.
MAN DOWN is directed by Dito Montiel (A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS, FIGHTING).
Opening nationwide in theaters on April 18, here’s the brand new trailer for TRANSCENDENCE starring Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Cillian Murphy, Clifton Collins, Jr., and Morgan Freeman.
Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions.
His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him.
However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should.
Their worst fears are realized as Will’s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.
TRANSCENDENCE marks the feature film directorial debut of Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister (“Inception,” the “Dark Knight” movies). Pfister directed the movie from a screenplay by Jack Paglen.
Hollywood lit up on Tuesday, December 6th for the Los Angeles Premiere of TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY at the Cinerama Dome at The ArcLight in Hollywood, and WAMG was there!
Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, David Dencik, director Tomas Alfredson, screenwriter Peter Straughan, producer Robyn Slovo and notable guests which include the below attended the screening/after-party: BJ Novak, Brenda Vaccaro, Christopher Nolan, Clifton Collins Jr., Corbin Bleu, Edgar Wright, Emily Blunt, Johnny Whitworth, Mia Wasikowska, Mindy Kaling, Natassja Kinski, and Olvia d’Abo.
After-party followed at the Chateau Marmont. Sorry kids… no pictures from there!
Just click on an image below to enlarge
SYNOPSIS:
The long-awaited feature film version of John le Carré’s classic bestselling novel. The time is 1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Century continues to damage international relations. Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries’ espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. The head of the Circus, known as Control (John Hurt), personally sends dedicated operative Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) into Hungary. But Jim’s mission goes bloodily awry, and Control is forced out of the Circus – as is his top lieutenant, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a career spy with razor-sharp senses. Estranged from his absent wife Ann, Smiley is soon called in to see undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney); he is to be rehired in secret at the government’s behest, as there is a gnawing fear that the Circus has long been compromised by a double agent, or mole, working for the Soviets and jeopardizing England. Supported by younger agent Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley parses Circus activities past and present. In trying to track and identify the mole, Smiley is haunted by his decades-earlier interaction with the shadowy Russian spy master Karla. The mole’s trail remains cold until maverick field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) unexpectedly contacts Lacon. While undercover in Turkey, Ricki has fallen for a betrayed married woman, Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova), who claims to possess crucial intelligence. Separately, Smiley learns that Control narrowed down the list of mole suspects to five men. They are the ambitious Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), whom he had code-named Tinker; suavely confident Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), dubbed Tailor; stalwart Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), called Soldier; officious Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), dubbed Poor Man; and – Smiley himself. Even before the startling truth is revealed, the emotional and physical tolls on the players enmeshed in the deadly international spy game will escalate…
There is slow burn, and then there is no burn, that type of film that keeps making you think something, anything, is about to happen. Sometimes, if it is done poorly, a no burn film will tease you so hard that a big plot turn is coming just around the corner that it becomes obvious that no twist is coming. Fortunately, Carolyn Miller’s thriller UNDER STILL WATERS does offer that elusive twist. Sometime does occur in the film to make all the tantalizing and smoke generating seemingly worth while. However, it takes some time to get to that point, and, by the time it does, the film has fallen so far into no burn territory that it’s hard to recover.
Lake Bell and Jason Clarke play Charlie and Andrew, respectively, a young couple who are trying to work through their issues. Charlie’s father is a very powerful and very rich man, and Andrew just wants to be able to support his wife away and clear from her father. The two decide to spend some time out in the woods at her father’s lake house.
On the way, they come across (read nearly hit) Jacob, played by Clifton Collins Jr., a drifter whose bike has run out of gas along the road. The couple decides to take Jacob to the lake house, but, from the start, his presence seems out of the ordinary. Things turn even darker once Andrew realizes Jacob is carrying a gun. Who is Jacob? Why does Charlie seem so infatuated with him? What dark secrets do the couple have that might come into play? These are the answers Miller takes forever and a day to reveal.
There really is much to like about UNDER STILL WATERS. Cinematographer Matthew Irving, who has previously worked on WAITRESS and WAITING… (oddly, two completely, different types of film), effortlessly shoots around the Missouri countryside. Tom Hiel’s score is effective yet never overpowering of the film. Miller herself knows well how to capture a shot, and, for the most part, UNDER STILL WATERS has the look and feel of a large-budget production.
Even though most of the film feels like a display of style over substance, and the inner workings of the film aren’t allowed to come into play until well into it, they eventually do just that. In fact, much of the first 2/3 of the film feels drawn out, slightly lagging, and full of seemingly pointless flashbacks. At first, they feel disconnected, unnecessary, as if they were only thrown into pad the run time. Fortunately, Miller has an endgame here, and, as everything becomes revealed in the film’s final act, you understand why the rest of the film plays out as it does. The risk here is in losing the audience before they get to the hook. Miller’s film runs that line very closely, and anyone who may feel a bit distracted may not care how the outcome plays out.
One element that helps to keep the audience’s attention through the low parts are the exemplary performances by all three leads. All three have to run the gamut of emotions, and all three have to, each, draw something different from the crowd at any given moment. You never know completely until the end who to root for or against, and much of the success of this falls at the feet of Bell, Clarke, and Collins Jr. There is no denying Collins Jr. does the best job here at playing the audience, though. His expressions are enough persuade you into liking him or thinking he is no good, and that is before he even opens his mouth to deliver a line of dialog.
By the time UNDER STILL WATERS delivers what, eventually, sets it in the thriller genre, the onslaught of revelations, twists, and even a little violence is a welcome relief to all the growing tension. That no burn feeling does finally give way to something, and you realize the slow burn has been there all along. Though not a very tightly wound one, the film, at its heart, is a thriller, and, though it finally succeeds in making waves, the waters here are still for far too long.
UNDER STILL WATERS will screen at the Tivoli on Friday, November 13th at 9:30pm during the 18th Annual Whitaker Saint Louis International Film Festival.
