Starring Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg, Lionsgate has released the first trailer for DEEPWATER HORIZON. This intense, gripping movie is one of the must-see films of 2016!
On April 20th, 2010, the world’s largest man-made disaster occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Directed by Peter Berg (HANCOCK, BATTLESHIP), this harrowing story honours the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone’s lives forever.
The film is based upon an article by David Barstow, David Rohde, and Stephanie Saul published in The New York Times.
Berg and Wahlberg previously collaborated on the superb 2013 American war film LONE SURVIVOR based on the 2007 book. The movie opened to strong financial success and a generally positive critical response.
Berg’s upcoming film also stars Golden Globe nominee Kurt Russell, Academy Award nominee John Malkovich, Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O’Brien and Academy Award nominee Kate Hudson.
The score is by composer Steve Jablonsky who wrote the music for LONE SURVIVOR and BATTLESHIP.
Golden Globe-winner John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane, Inside Llewyn Davis, Argo) will join Academy Award-Winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash, Zootopia) and Academy Award-nominee Mark Wahlberg (The Departed, Lone Survivor) in PATRIOTS DAY.
The film will be directed by Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor) and produced by Scott Stuber, Mark Wahlberg, Hutch Parker, Dylan Clark, Stephen Levinson, Dorothy Aufiero and Michael Radutzky.
PATRIOTS DAY chronicles the events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. Goodman will play former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis. Commissioner Davis played an integral role in working with the FBI, Watertown Police Department, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police and local first responders to track, identify and apprehend the suspected bombers.
“Commissioner Davis is an American hero, and John Goodman brings the extraordinary combination of humility, gravitas and empathy to portray him,” commented Berg.
PATRIOTS DAY will be co-financed by CBS Films and Lionsgate with the former handling production and marketing and the latter handling distribution.
The film will begin production in Boston later this month and will open in Boston, New York and Los Angeles on December 21, 2016.
Serial killer movies are like westerns or gangster flicks; there are all levels of them from cheap slasher exploitation to procedural ones where the heroes are scientific-minded detectives and all sorts of variations in between. MOJAVE, written and directed by Oscar winner William Monahan (for writing THE DEPARTED) is the existential and psychological type. It stars Oscar Isaac, Mark Wahlberg, Garret Hedlund, and Walton Goggins. With that cast and pedigree, you would expect MOJAVE to be a major release, but the new film has slipped quietly into few theaters this weekend with little fanfare. It’s seriously flawed and I understand why the studio had little faith in it, but it has its moments and for adventurous moviegoers it’s worth seeking out.
Garrett Hedlund stars in MOJAVE as Thomas, a shaggy-haired movie producer who has it all: a beautiful wife and child, a sprawling home, and a foxy French mistress (Hayley Magnus). We first meet him as he hops out of bed and drives his jeep to the titular desert with nothing but two bottles of vodka and some water. It seems he’s out there to end his life but changes his mind when leather-clad drifter Jack (Oscar Isaac) stumbles onto his campsite. Jack holds a rifle with seven notches in it, the same number as murder victims that have recently been found out there in the Mojave. The two men wax philosophical for a while about Jesus and Ahab and Shakespeare and selling one’s soul, exchanging elliptical dialog like “Who are you?”…”No one in particular”….”Anyone in general?” Thomas manages to avoid Jack’s deadly intent, but in the process he accidentally kills an innocent man. He heads back to L.A., but Jack is on his tail CAPE FEAR-style, with revenge on his mind.
MOJAVE is at times a fairly intense movie, visually stylish and thematically creepy. It begins extremely well before descending into a series of inevitable murders and confrontations and a predictable climax where our hero discovers that when push comes to shove, we’re all brutes and animals. With THE DEPARTED, Monahan had the frame of an earlier Chinese crime film to hang his story and dialog on, but this film is less plot-driven and more a rambling character study. The acting is uneven. Hedlund is scowling and surly throughout, mumbling with an ever-present cigarette dangling from his lips. You wonder how he ever became a movie exec. In fact, the world of Hollywood insiders in MOJAVE plays more like that of vulgar mid-level gangsters than successful movie folk. Wahlberg in a small role phones in his performance. I don’t mean that as an insult – he has four scenes and in three of them he’s talking on the phone. Goggins is low key but funny in another minor part as Thomas’ manager. Best is Oscar Isaac, excellent as an intelligent psychotic who knows the rules and manages to violate every code of human decency while still keeping arm’s-length from the law (where are the police in this movie anyway?). Unfortunately, Jack is given little motivation for his evil deeds and no back story. It’s not a great movie, but if you want to get in out of the cold for a couple of hours, you could do worse than MOJAVE.
Every holiday, millions of people make their way to the local movie theater for some fun, cinematic action, comedy, romance, or adventure. Unfortunately for DADDY’S HOME, it offers none of the above.
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg team up again for the all new broken family comedy. Brad Taggart is a mild-mannered executive at a jazz radio station who seems to have everything that he’s ever wanted… a great job, a loving wife, and two wonderful step-children. He’s living the daddy dream until the children’s biological father Dusty comes back into the picture. Now, Brad is in a battle for his family with a bad boy who seems to excel where he doesn’t. The result is chaos.
I get what they were trying to do here by bringing Ferrell and Wahlberg back together. They were trying to recreate the same comedic chemistry that THE OTHER GUYS had. True, Ferrell and Wahlberg are great together, but that isn’t enough to save this film. It all starts with the script. We’ve seen oddball pairings in film before. It gets boring unless there is some sort of direction or substance behind it. Unfortunately, none of that was offered in this script.
The whole film felt lost, and the comedy had no real direction. It felt like they couldn’t decide if they were making a family comedy, or going more gallows. That doesn’t really work for a movie like this. They needed to pick one or the other. Instead, it danced back and forth in a sad attempt to find middle ground. Forty-five minutes into this ninety-six minute snooze-fest I was completely bored and ready to leave. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Director and screenwriter Sean Anders doesn’t have a great track record with his films. His top two being WE’RE THE MILLERS and HOT TUB TIME MACHINE. I mean, DUMB AND DUMBER TO was embarrassingly bad.
My problem is not with the actors… especially the children. Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Esteves were terrific. My problem is with the flow of the film and the script. Did none of the actors realize that the script had no direction? Were the actors not able to improvise? Something tells me that there are a ton of jokes that were left on the cutting room floor that could have greatly improved this film. I guess we’ll have to wait for the bonus features.
It’s a shame to have such a stink bomb in theaters for the holidays. This should have been a mid-January release.
DADDY’S HOME is in theaters December 25th and WAMG is giving away passes to catch the film in St. Louis.
It’s Step-Dad vs. Dad – and Will Ferrell vs. Mark Wahlberg – in this rollicking holiday season family comedy about a mild-mannered radio executive who must take on the ultimate “dad-versary” when his wife’s motorcycle-riding, freewheeling, secret operative ex breezes back into town. It’s just one proud papa meeting another – what could possibly go wrong? But what is supposed to be a first get-to-know-you meeting turns into all-out warfare as the two polar opposites attempt to out-dad each other, with hilarious and disastrous results.
The stakes keep rising – from puppies to ponies to Kobe – but can they both survive the rivalry? Step-dad Brad just wants to be there for his new family, but he has no idea just how much it’s going to take to win their hearts when DADDY’S HOME.
The film is directed by Sean Anders from a story by Brian Burns and a screenplay by Brian Burns and Sean Anders & John Morris. The film co-stars Linda Cardellini, Hannibal Buress, Thomas Haden Church, Bobby Cannavale, Paul Scheer, Bill Burr.
Watch these hilarious clips from the film.
For your chance to win RUN-OF-ENGAGEMENT passes to see the film in the St. Louis area, enter:
YOUR NAME AND E-MAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW. WE WILL CONTACT YOU IF YOU ARE A WINNER.
Pass is valid beginning Monday, December 28th.
OFFICIAL RULES:
WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.
Passes are good at local St. Louis AMC Theatres.
The movie has been rated PG-13 for thematic elements, crude and suggestive content, and for language.
Paramount Pictures has released a brand new clip from director Sean Anders’ upcoming comedy DADDY’S HOME.
DADDY’S HOME follows a mild-mannered radio executive (Ferrell) who strives to become the best stepdad to his wife’s two children, but complications ensue when their freewheeling and freeloading real father (Wahlberg) arrives, forcing him to compete for the affection of the kids.
Anders directed the comedy HORRIBLE BOSSES 2.
Featuring Linda Cardellini and Thomas Haden Church, DADDY’S HOME opens in theaters on December 25, 2015.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more outrageous, Ted and his BFF are back in the hilarious, boundary-busting buddy comedy, TED 2, coming to Digital HD on November 24, 2015, and Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand on December 15, 2015, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
The follow up to TED, the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy of all time, TED 2 features more of the hysterically raunchy banter that has made writer-director-actor Seth MacFarlane an entertainment world powerhouse—as well as a touching story of brotherly love. Both the Blu-ray and DVD include an UNRATED extended edition that features never-before-seen footage that was too rude for the cinema, but makes this year’s most outrageous comedy the perfect gift for fans of this very adult spin on a childhood icon.
“Funnier, wilder and even more naughty than the first movie!” according to Bill Zwecker, WFLD-TV (Fox), Ted 2 finds John (Mark Wahlberg) dejected after a speedy marriage and divorce, but Ted’s romance with co-worker Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth) is full-speed ahead after a dream wedding presided over by none other than Flash Gordon (Sam J. Jones) himself. But when the pair tries to adopt a child, they are stunned by the contention that Ted is not a person. With the help of John and newly minted lawyer and longtime weed aficionado Samantha L. Jackson (Amanda Seyfried), the couple takes on the intolerance of a system unable to understand their love.
Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter, Lone Survivor) and Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy,” A Million Ways to Die in the West) reprise their star roles as John and his life-long best friend Ted, with an all-star cast that includes Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables, Dear John) and Jessica Barth (Ted, “Family Guy”), as well as inspired cameos from NFL star Tom Brady, Liam Neeson, Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, Morgan Freeman, Patrick Warburton, John Slattery and more in a “Lewd teddy bear comedy [that] has us in stitches, again” (Grand Rapids Press).
BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVE TO Blu-rayTM:
A Giant Opening Dance Number
Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
Cameo Buddies
BLU-RAYTM and DVD BONUS FEATURES
Thunder Buddies 4 Lyfe
Roadtripping
Creating Comic-Con
Feature Commentary with Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin & Wellesley Wild and Jessica Barth
The film will be available on Blu-ray™ with DIGITAL HD and UltraViolet™ and DVD
Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.
DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.
FILMMAKERS: Cast:Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Morgan Freeman, Giovanni Ribisi, Jessica Barth, Patrick Warburton, John Slattery Directed By:Seth McFarlane Written By:Seth McFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild Produced By:Jason Clark, John Jacobs, Seth McFarlane, Scott Stuber Executive Produced By:Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild Director of Photography:Michael Barrett Production Designer:Steven J. Lineweaver Edited By:Jeff Freeman Costume Design By:Cindy Evans Music By:Walter Murphy
TECHNICAL INFORMATION BLU-RAY™: Street Date:December 15, 2015 Copyright: 2015 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Selection Number: 2035660 Layers: BD-50 Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Rating: R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, and some drug use/NA Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/ DVS DD 2.0; Spanish and French DTS Digital Surround 5.1 Run Time: 1 hour 57 minutes/2 hours 6 minutes
TECHNICAL INFORMATION DVD Street Date:December 15, 2015 Copyright: 2015 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Selection Number: 2035661 Layers: Dual Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Rating: R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, and some drug use/NA Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles Sound: English, Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1; English DVS DD 2.0 Run Time: 1 hour 57 minute/2 hours 6 minutes
For those filmgoers who venture out on Christmas Day to their local cinemas, Paramount Pictures and Red Granite Pictures has the perfect film for you – DADDY’S HOME.
On Friday, the studios released a new poster for their upcoming movie starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. The two previously teamed up in the 2010 hit comedy THE OTHER GUYS.
In DADDY’S HOME, a mild-mannered radio executive (Ferrell) strives to become the best stepdad to his wife’s two children, but complications ensue when their freewheeling and freeloading real father (Wahlberg) arrives, forcing him to compete for the affection of the kids.
The comedy is from Sean Anders – the director of 2014’s HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 and writer of DUMB AND DUMBER TO.
Featuring Linda Cardellini and Thomas Haden Church, DADDY’S HOME opens in theaters on December 25, 2015.
I realize that all of us—even toy bears— at one time or another experience terrible problems in our lives, ugly demons that affect us or someone we love; they often seem hideously overwhelming: Obviously, this definitely sucks elephantine donkey testicles. Still, I believe that we’ve all got the inner strength to face these bastards and happily rip ‘um to shreds, even if the sob happens to be an evil minion who works at a famous toy company. And if you’re a bear, if you lose your job and find yourself racing around, trying to achieve freedom: tough times lie ahead! And laughter as well.
The funny film TED 2 is more than the sum of its parts. The evening that I viewed the film, I was dealing with a personal issue that made it slightly difficult to view and enjoy a comedy—Not laughing inside. Ordinarily I can easily get lost in a film, happily munching popcorn and enjoying a visual story. In a tribute to this zany movie, I found myself laughing with abandon and maniacal glee. On a few occasions, I was almost vomited with laughter. The opening credits start with a slick and obligatory Busby Berkeley style pizzazz!
The Story:
A year after their marriage, Ted (voiced by Seth Macfarlane) and his wife, Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth, a great comedienne) scream at each other in frustration: Ted realizes that only one possible thing can save their marriage: They must have a baby. Obviously, this will not be easy: Ted does not have a bear penis. Of course, I’m not inferring that Ted is definitely is not a male. He most definitely IS. Here is the challenge: Ted will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he qualifies as a ‘person’ in a court of law, in front of a disapproving jury. Helping him along the way is his Thunder buddy Mark Wahlberg and a lovely, stoned lawyer played by Amanda Seyfried. She’s first rate. Over the years, I’ve slowly become a fan of Mr. Wahlberg. He captured the right level of seriousness and humor that’s inherent in someone who has a friend that’s a toy bear.
Originally, I was going to describe some of my favorite scenes, but why? Just go see the movie. I will mention that one of my favorite scenes is a takeoff on Jurassic Park, including its iconic music. Oh—topical events of recent history are referenced as well, including Ferguson Missouri. I particularly enjoyed the Comic Con scenes, with a plethora of hip references to pop culture.
Although this is a wildly insane film, dealing with characters interacting with a Teddy Bear (Thank you C.G. and Teddy Roosevelt!), and although the film would have insulted my father with its scatological and politically incorrect scenes (Then again, this super crazy explosion of hilarity wasn’t made for my pop.), there is also some truly fine thematic moments in the film on freedom and what it means to be alive in the 21st century. So pay attention!
The audience for the film already loved the original movie. Sometimes the movie did remind me a bit too much of MacFarlane’s beloved television programs. They went with the cinematic insanity in the tale and had a damn good time. Whether or not they appreciated the underlying ideas is something that an undernourished reviewer can fathom.
The overall direction (by Seth Macfarlane) is tight and skillful, but it still had the feel of, say, OH GOD, directed by The Great Carl Reiner. The direction is professional, but the film isn’t trying for cinematic brilliance. The C.G. blending of the bear with more typical humans is outstandingly accomplished.So much of the film might be better seen through a haze of pot smoke. Actually, most of the characters in the film seemed to enjoy a good toke as well.
Before it opens this Friday, June 26th, get a look behind the bear in this new TED 2 featurette.
It’s time to legalize Ted.
In the years since we last saw John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted, they’re both still living the dream in Boston. Although John is now a bachelor, Ted has settled down with Tami-Lynn, the trashy woman of his dreams. As marital problems begin to affect the newlyweds, Ted and Tami-Lynn decide to have a baby in order to save their marriage.
Their hopes are crushed when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts declares Ted to be not a person, but property, and therefore ineligible to adopt. He is fired from his job at the grocery store and summarily informed that his marriage has been annulled.
Angry and dejected, Ted channels his frustration and asks his best pal to help him sue the state and win him the rights that he deserves. They enlist a young, medical-marijuana aficionada named Samantha L. Jackson (Amanda Seyfried) as their lawyer and head to court. But when Ted loses his case, the three must venture on a road trip to New York in a last-ditch effort to persuade legendary civil rights attorney Patrick Meighan (Morgan Freeman) to take on their appeal.
If they win, they will prove that Ted is not just a beer-swilling, pot-infused stuffed teddy bear, but actually a person who deserves the same freedoms as any other beer-swilling, pot-infused American.
Seth MacFarlane returns as writer, director and voice star of Ted 2, Universal and Media Rights Capital’s follow-up to the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy of all time.
