Tag: sam worthington

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH – Review

Varang (Oona Chaplin) in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Director James Cameron is back with a third installment of his AVATAR franchise, which continues to deliver astounding visual effects and world-creation at the highest level. In the first film, a human expedition looking for resources to extract is sent to world called Pandora, a place with an un-breathable atmosphere and inhabited by tall, blue, technologically less-advanced people, dispatches a Marine, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), in the form of an avatar that looks like the forest-living Na’vi people, to learn more about them. But after falling in love with a Na’vi warrior woman, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), Jake switches sides and leads a rebellion against the humans. The second film takes place some 15 years later, as Jake, wife Neytiri and their kids hide out from the human among some beach-dwelling peoples, pursued by Jake’s nemesis and fellow Marine, Quaritch (Stephen Lang). This third one, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, takes place shortly after that second film.

The main reason to see AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, are the spectacular visual effects and it’s breathtaking world-building. The 3D visual effects are immersive and beautiful, with one breathtaking vista after another. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH continues to astonish with innovative visual effects that combine motion-capture and digital effects, like the first film, and now including 3D like the second one, but the effects are even more fully integrated, allowing one to entirely be enveloped by its imaginary world. The impressive effects even continue in the scenes with regular non-CGI or motion-capture actor, creating a seamlessly believable world.

Since the outstanding visual effects are the major reason to see this film, the best way to do that is in a theater, on a big screen with 3D capability. If you watch it on a small screen at home or on a phone, you will be missing out most of the reason to see it at all.

The reason why that matters so much is, despite all that visual effect artistry and technical dazzle, the characters and story do not reach that same high level, remaining familiar figures from a classic hero’s tale, with the addition of a historical tale of a colonial or corporate power moving in on a less-technological indigenous one. These indigenous people are aided greatly by that fellow who switched sides, which sets up a David and Goliath / underdog tale.

Action is plentiful and looks great but the story adds more and more characters without expanding on the ones already there. The main characters remain underdeveloped, being either noble good guys or evil bad ones. The story focuses on battles and those breathtaking new vistas but that can hold audience interest forever.

The effects are 3D but the characters remain 2D. It is not the fault of the cast, but the writer. The characters are written to be simple: Worthington’s Jake is noble and brave, Saldana’s Neytiri is emotional and protective, Stephen Lang as Jake’s enemy is relentless, while Giovanni Ribisi’s corporate boss is greedy and heartless. If the story is familiar, the audience has to care about the people in the story to maintain interest, and that means making them more real, more rounded and full-developed.

This story introduces new peoples on Pandora, with peaceful trading peoples who travel through the air in ships attached to blip-like floating creatures. There is another, less peaceful group too, the raiders/pirates known as the Ash People, who prey on the traders and others less warlike folk.

Quaritch, now also using an avatar body, sets out to make contact the war-like Ash People, with the aim of forming an alliance. He hits it off with the Ash People’s fierce, fearless, blood-thirsty queen Varang (a splendid Oona Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin), and a deal is struck.

Meanwhile, Jake struggles with getting the Na’vi and water-based Metkayina Clan to consider using human weapons that he retrieved from the water after the last battle, rather than just bows and arrows. Jake and Neytiri, in addition to their own kids, have adopted two more: Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), the Na’vi child of the avatar of the scientist played by Sigourney Weaver in the first AVATAR, and a human boy nicknamed Spider (Jack Champion), the biological son of Jake’s enemy Quaritch, who needs a special mask to breath the air, a mask that has to be continually replenished to keep him alive.

Stephen Lang’s Quaritch and Oona Chaplin’s Ash queen are by far the most interesting in this one, but if left undeveloped, will just join the crowd of cookie-cutter characters. The story is packed with action and battles and so full of twists (and new characters) that there isn’t much time to do much with this growing cast of characters anyway. But failing to develop the characters beyond the two-dimensional means that maintaining interest in the familiar tropes of this tale will become increasingly challenging.

Reportedly, director/writer James Cameron has two more of these visual effects extravaganzas in the planning stage but unless he starts creating depth to this characters to sustain this hero tale, he is likely to see waning audience interest, something already underway. It can’t just be pretty pictures.

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH opens in theaters on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

RELAY – Review

Ah, now here’s a real “under the radar” gem. Usually, the quirky modern-day ‘B” pictures are dropped into the multiplex in late Winter or mid-Fall. So, we’re almost past the Summer blockbuster season, the studio “wise men” (two words not often next to each other) are arriving well in advance of the December holidays with a gift for us. This one’s full of razzle-dazzle tech twists and intricate machinations, mixing in elements of crowd pleasers like THE EQLUAIZER (movie series and TV shows), THE STING, THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, with a sprinkling from the IMF team for a spicy kick. There are no big action set pieces, but there is plenty of tension when you dive into the wild world of RELAY.


Much as with a Bond flick or Indiana Jones, we’re dropped into the conclusion of a recent “operation” involving the lead character in the film’s opening moments. It seems that everything’s gone according to plan as he observes a rich CEO getting his “just desserts” while his former employee vanishes into the night. We’re then whisked away to the start of another case. A jittery young woman cautiously enters the towering home of an NYC law firm. Sarah Grant (Lily James) was a top researcher/scientist at a major “bio-agricultural” company. She sounded the alarm about a new “insect-resistant” wheat that has the possibility of dangerous, even deadly side effects. The company fired her and insisted she turn over all the research. Sarah left with the files, but is having “second thoughts”. She’s being harassed and threatened, spurring a desire to return the docs rather than “blow the whistle”. Now she fears that her old bosses will “tie up loose ends”.The lawyer who hears her declines to take her as a client. Instead, he scribbles down the number of a person who acts as an “intermediary” to broker the “info exchange”. When she calls the number, she speaks to a rep at the Interstate Relay Service, a company that translates phone calls for the hearing impaired. The messages are not recorded, nor are they kept on file. Typing in at another location is the “barterer,” who we later learn is named Ash (Riz Ahmed). They establish an ID “passcode phrase” (“Cash or credit?” “Check”) and he gives her strict instructions (do it right or I’ll walk away) on how to get the files to him, along with payment, and who to contact at her old job. He keeps a copy of the files forever in a secret safe and makes copies to send to the feds and media in case the company goes after her. But first, she’s got to move to a much safer place, namely an incredibly secure high-rise apartment building. Somehow her move leaks out, and a dark van is parked across the street. Inside is a well-armed “cleaner squad” headed by a man going by “Dawson” (Sam Worthington), who gets her client’s Relay calls from Ash. Will things go according to his elaborate plan? And what happens when the exchanges between Ash and Saeah take a more intimate turn?

In referring to this as a modern “B” movie, I didn’t wish to imply that the stellar cast is anything other than “A+”, particularly the two main leads. First, there is the interesting and intense Ahmed, who has been so great in supporting roles (NIGHTCRAWLER) and terrific as the main focus (acting students will study his work in SOUND OF METAL). For a moment, I thought he was following up on that film due to Ash’s use of the relay service, but it’s a way to avoid making a personal connection. Through those immersive dark eyes will look into the soul of an emotionally wounded, haunted man who must stay in control at all times. This quality doesn’t help him away from work as he sits silently at AA meetings. Ahmed wants to become invisible as he flits from one shadow to the next. But then someone flips the light switch, and we see his defensive cocoon slowly begin to crack. Taking a hammer to it is the ethereal charisma of Ms. James, who lets us see, in her vocal delivery and body language, Sarah go from vulnerable victim to staunch champion of her own destiny. She’s overwhelmed by dealing with the rapid, specific details from Ash, though soon she’s bobbing and weaving like a trenchcoated spy. Their engaging chemistry has us rooting for them to connect beyond the “case”. That’s complicated due to the dead-eyed killers headed by the gravel-voiced Worthington. Every line is spat out like venom, though we can get a glimmer of his reserved respect for his worthy opponent’s intellect. However, he lets us know that he’ll bash in that skull housing that brain, if he gets a chance. I should mention his also intimidating “second-in-command” Rosetti played by the captivating Willa Fitzgerald (who burnt up the screen last year in the fantastic STRANGE DARLING), who is both slinky and sinister as she pursues both Sarah and Ash.

As for the filmmaker who keeps “all the plates spinning”, here’s a big “Welcome back to the big screen” for David Mackenzie, whose last theatrical feature (aside from the Netflix showcase OUTLAW KING) was another engaging thriller, 2016’s HELL OR HIGH WATER. Working from an endlessly clever script from Justin Piasecki (no surprise that it was on the 2019 “Blacklist” of most-liked unproduced screenplays), Mackenzie almost turns the Big Apple into another character, as every street lamp or crowded walkway could lead to a fatal showdown. We’re guided to familiar locales made mysterious with bystanders giving the “stink eye” before possibly lashing out at Sarah or Ash, or maybe walking past. And even though they’re kept apart, Mackenzie and Piasecki convey the longing and yearning for contact that’s denied. Somehow, they make the relay service jargon somewhat “steamy” (at the end of every reply, rather than “stop” in telegrams, they say “go ahead”). I can’t give away too many details of Ash’s “playbook”, I will say that he uses state-of-the-art tech (lots of “burner phones” while making considerable use of the much maligned under-appreciated USPS. Yes, I’m talking about the post office, as Ash gets their tracking numbers, while dropping some unique postal trivia (when this film was shot, there were active post office service centers inside the gate area of a few major airports). As I mentioned, there aren’t elaborate stunt sequences, but many of the near-misses and “drops” will have you on the edge of your seat. That’s before you fall off of it during the stunning, whiplash-inducing finale reveal. There’s been little fanfare about this engaging entertainment (so many talk shows are taking early Labor Day breaks), so I hope that word will spread on this original film that takes its inspiration from so many classic thrillers (could Ash be a 21st-century spin on the Scarlet Pimpernel). Moviegoers will be well rewarded for their effort (it may be tough to locate at the multiplex) and time (clocking in at under two hours) with the cinematic and storytelling delights of RELAY.

3.5 Out of 4

RELAY is now playing in select theatres

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER – Review

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER

Along with EMPIRE OF LIGHT, this week’s film is also a bit of cinema nostalgia. No, it’s not about the beginning of Hollywood or a particular famous director, nor Like EOL a movie palace. That’s because it has something in common with this year’s (so far) biggest box office earner: it is a sequel several years after the original. Now it doesn’t come close to the 36 years between the TOP GUN flicks, but 13 is a long stretch indeed. That’s when James Cameron followed up the, then, biggest film of all time, TITANIC, with a film that surpassed it (at the time). And now after endless reports and rumors, official and unofficial announcements, the sequel to his SF-fantasy epic is finally here (supposedly the first of at least four follow-ups). So dust off those 3D stereo specs for a return to Pandora in AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER.


The story does pick up on that said planet, as the human invaders are banished, except a few sympathetic scientists, by the native Na-vi tribes. As for the focus of the first flick, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington in voice and “mo-cap”) is still in his cloned Na-vi body and has started a family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), plus he’s the chief of the Omaticaya (forest) tribe. The couple has two teenage sons, Neteyam and Lo’ak along with their pre-teen daughter Tuk. Oh, and they’ve adopted two more. there’s teenager Kiri who is the avatar of late human researcher Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and an actual human teenage boy who couldn’t be part of the exile, though he’s the son of Jake’s enemy. He prefers the nickname ‘Spider’ (Jack Champion). Things are tranquil until that same enemy, Quaritch (Stephen Lang) actually returns in a Na’vi avatar complete with his still ill-tempered “brain template”., Of course, the Earthers are back with another attempt to colonize Pandora under the command of General Ardmore (Edie Falco). Quaritch is thirsting for revenge and targets Jake. When the kids, except Spider, avoid capture by his forces, Jake decides that they must leave the tribe in order to protect their forest friends. Moving quickly, they dash toward the wide ocean to join the Metkayina, the reef people. Their chief Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his wife Ronal (Kate Winslett) hesitantly take them in. Jake doesn’t wish to upset his hosts, but his sons soon clash with Tonowari’s aggressive sons, though daughter Tiserya seems to ‘like” Neteyama. But the underwater explorations of the Sully family may be cut short as the forces of Quartich zero in. leading to a massive battle for the fate of the entire planet.

For most films, I’d delve right into the performances, but this film is quite unique in that aspect. Since so much motion-capture technology is utilized you’d perhaps wish to consider it an animated feature. But that’s not really the case as we do have “un-augmented” performers throughout the film. Weaver and Lang are seen in flashback cameos as is Giovanni Ribisi. Champion has probably the most “live time” as Spider who’s an interesting hybrid of the feral “wild child” of ROAD WARRIOR and ERB’s Korak (son of Tarzan) and Jack Kirby’s 70’s creation for DC, Kamandi (“the last boy on Earth”). Falco’s a formidable general, while comic actor Jermaine Clement is a funny nervous scientist in the big third-act battle. Yet here’s what sets apart the use of CGI enhancements here: the acting performances still shine through. Worthington’s a glowering stern, but fair, father. Salanda’s eyes well with tears as she worries about her “clan”. And Lang’s arrogant sneer is there amidst all the blue skin and cat-like features of the Na’vi.


That’s just the tip of this film’s incredible wizardry and wonders. Pandora’s is as gorgeous as you recall, perhaps even more so in the depth and details of the floating mountains and lush jungle that sparkles with shimmering creatures that seem to float inches from our noses. But then Cameron tops that by setting so much of the second half in the new beautiful blues of the underwater vistas. The characters glide in a beautiful ballet with the astounding creatures (their “scalp tails” connect with seal-like transports) and later dance upon whale-like behemoths. But the creativity’s not limited to the new forms of wildlife. Ardmore has an “upgrade” of Ripley’s exoskeleton from ALIENS, while the other Earth weaponry resembles a rampaging metallic crab. In the oceans, the battleship-sized vessels shoot out torpedoes that are tiny one-manned subs. This just doubles the frustrations of an often trite screenplay with too many bits of clunky dialogue. The environmental themes are hammered home while those inter-family conflicts (sibling rivalries, estrangements, repressed attractions) feel “tacked on” to balance the action set-pieces. And yes, they’re truly awesome, but it wears us down after extended aquatic exploring. Still, Cameron has pushed the boundaries of special effects once more making a trek to the biggest screen available (along with enhanced sound and 3D) a real cinematic thrill ride. He makes Pandora the ultimate movie dreamscape in AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER.

3 Out of 4

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER is now playing in theatres everywhere

Win Passes To The St. Louis Advance Screening Of AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the Lightstorm Entertainment Production stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet. Screenplay by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver. Story by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno. David Valdes and Richard Baneham serve as the film’s executive producers.

Get tickets now: www.fandango.com/avatarthewayofwater

The St. Louis screening for 20th Century Studios film, “AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER”, is on Tuesday, Dec. 9th, 7pm at Marcus Chesterfield Cine. James Cameron’s highly anticipated, first follow-up to his Academy Award®-winning “Avatar,” the highest-grossing film of all time, opens in theaters on December 16th.

The screening will be filled on a first come first served basis, so we encourage you to arrive early. Seats will not be guaranteed. Rated PG-13.

Enter at the link below for the chance to win a family-four pack of passes.

SWEEPSTAKES LINK:  https://gofobo.com/WayOfWaterGeeks

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. ©2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER

LANSKY – Review

This weekend sees the release of another addition in the movies’ complex relationship with criminals, in particular gangsters. Or the “made men”. But not “made-up men” as in those early-talkie Warners classics, or the celebrated Corleone trilogy. This guy was the “real deal”, although he would’ve grimaced at seeing his name on a theatre marquee. He preferred working and plotting (a wiz at making the numbers click) in the shadows. Ah, but films have found him fascinating because of his unique heritage, as he was one of the few underworld figures who was Jewish, rather than the prevalent Catholic-raised Italian-Americans. Now, there was a fictionalized version of himself in that second of the earlier mentioned series, being Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth in the superior sequel, THE GODFATHER PART II. But several acclaimed actors have portrayed him on the big and small screen including Patrick Dempsey and Oscar-winners Richard Dreyfus and Sir Ben Kingsley. Now another heavy-hitter (a vet of many mob movies) offers his take as Meyer LANSKY.


But before we meet the “big man”, we get to know struggling writer/ex-reporter David Stone (Sam Worthington). He’s fibbed to his estranged wife about his trip to Miami in 1981. There’s no big “book-signing” event, but rather the chance to get back on the “best seller list’, because he’s been “hand-picked” by the subject to write a biography of legendary crime figure Meyer Lansky (Harvey Keitel). The two meet in a local “family-style” restaurant (similar to an IHOP or Denny’s) where the “big boss’ lays down a few rules, including no tape recorders and no selling it to publishers until his approval or demise. David then jots down pages of notes on the elder’s long history, going from mastering back alley craps games 70 years ago to climbing the ranks of the mob with pal Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel (David Cade) as they prove invaluable to “big man” Charlie “Lucky” Luciano (Shane McRae). In the late 30s, Meyer (John Magaro) would start a family with the volatile Anne (AnnaSophia Robb), earn a chair at the “organization’s table”, and actually aid the feds in flushing out Nazi spies. Later, Lansky was a big financial contributor to the formation of Israel. In between the interviews, David returns to his modest motel, where he’s often distracted by the sultry woman at the pool, Maureen (Minky Kelly), and by the car that slowly cruises the parking lot near his room. The driver is FBI agent Frank Rivers (David James Elliott) who soon pressures David to get info about a missing mob fortune (about 300 million). But can the down-on-his-luck scribe tread the dangerous tightrope between the “feds” and the still-connected aging gangster?

As the “silver lion” of the “organization” (maybe “last man standing” rather than “last man living”) Keitel really “delivers the goods” in the title role. Somehow he can turn on a dime, from a “reminiscing about those good ole’ days’ charmer” to an intimidating “iron hand”. Though he knows that the final sunset is quickly approaching, Keitel gives Lansky quiet dignity as he trie to “go out” on his own terms and finally chooses to boast, a bit, of his long legacy. But there’s still a great deal of tragedy, as he recalls his afflicted son and his rebuff from his “promised land”. And though he’s been in some of the biggest recent hit films (and those upcoming AVATAR sequels) Worthington is often overwhelmed in the many duets with Mr. K. It may be due to the familiarity of his character, a creative grasping at straws as he finds himself between “a rock and a hard place”. Plus his pleading phone calls with the family quickly become tiresome, as does the stilted romance with Kelly’s flirtatious “femme fatale” Maureen. That role feels “tacked on” in order to “spice up” the dreary modern-day sequences that are minus Meyer. Another addition to David’s dilemma is Elliot as the dogged, obsessed “G-man” who has the determination to carry on J. Edgar’s legacy but little of his arrogant aggression. His Agent Rivers is more of an annoyance than a true threat. As for the flashbacks, Magaro doesn’t try for a Keitel impression as the younger Lansky, but still projects a quiet menace (as opposed to the sadistic Ben) as he tries to divert the mob from being “backbreakers to “bean-counters”, replacing muscled goons with nit-picking auditors. But his version is less compelling despite the scenes of his home life. Ultimately those devolve into shouting matches with Robb’s Anne who overdoes the histrionics as she screams about “divine punishment”. I’m sure a better-written role would have showcased her considerable talents.

Everything moves at a languid pace under the pedestrian direction from Etyan Rockaway, who co-wrote the script with relative Robert. The interview segments have a quiet tension, due mainly to Keitel, but the flashbacks often feel like hazy basic cable TV crime “doc-show” recreations, complete with whirling newspaper headlines, odd hairstyles, ill-fitting fashions, and outright anachronisms, as when we see the 1920s sedans at resorts in the late 1940s. The FBI office scenes play like outtakes from a 70s TV cop show, while the repeating CGI-enhanced headshots fail to give the mob history a gritty contemporary edge. Most frustrating is that the man in the center remains an enigma, though more complex now (the Nazi-smashing and Israel support are less reported aspects of his story), many questions are left dangling as we get many long lingering pan-shots of him shuffling along the Alabama *doubling for Florida) shoreline. Despite the always compelling Keitel, LANSKY is a real letdown, often putting us to sleep, along with the fishes.

2 Out of 4

LANSKY opens in select theatres and is available as a Video-on-Demand via most streaming apps and platforms beginning Friday, June 25, 2021

Here’s the Trailer for Harvey Keitel as LANSKY – In Select Theaters and On-Demand June 25th

Harvey Keitel is Meyer Lansky LANSKY – In Select Theaters and On-Demand June 25th. Here’s the trailer:

In LANSKY, Sam Worthington plays David Stone, a renowned but down-on-his-luck writer, who has the opportunity of a lifetime when he receives a surprise call from Meyer Lansky (Academy Award nominee Harvey Keitel).  For decades, authorities have been trying to locate Lansky’s alleged nine-figure fortune and this is their last chance to capture the aging gangster before he dies. With the FBI close behind, the Godfather of organized crime reveals the untold truth about his life as the notorious boss of Murder Inc. and the National Crime Syndicate.

LANSKY stars Harvey Keitel, Sam Worthington, John Magaro, AnnaSophia Robb, Minka Kelly, Danny Abeckaser, and David James Elliot and is written and directed by Eytan Rockaway.

Sam Worthington in MAN ON A LEDGE Arrives on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack plus Blu-ray and Digital April 9th from Lionsgate.

An all-star cast in an intense action-thriller comes home when Man on a Ledge arrives on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital) April 9 from Lionsgate.

An all-star cast in an intense action-thriller comes home whenMan on a Ledge arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital) April 9 from Lionsgate. Starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, and Anthony Mackie, the film has been called “a heart-pounding adrenaline rush” by Fox-TV. Experience four times the resolution of full HD with the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, which includes Dolby Vision® HDR, bringing entertainment to life through ultra-vivid picture quality. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors never before seen on a screen, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker. Additionally, the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack and Blu-ray feature Dolby Atmos® audio mixed specifically for the home, to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. Available for the very first time in this absolutely stunning format, the Man on a Ledge 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack will include a featurette and trailer commentary by Elizabeth Banks and will be available for the suggested retail price of $22.99.

In the film critics call a “white-knuckle action thriller (Mose Persico, CTV Montreal),” ex-cop Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) escapes from prison to plan the ultimate heist; steal a $40 million diamond from cutthroat businessman David Englander (Ed Harris), and in the process prove his own innocence. From the ledge of the famous Roosevelt Hotel with the whole world watching, Cassidy plays a clever game of cat and mouse with the NYPD while his dutiful brother Joey (Jamie Bell) races against the clock to extract the diamond and clear his brother’s name.

4K ULTRA HD / BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

  • “TheLedge” Featurette
  • Trailer with Commentary by Elizabeth Banks

CAST

Sam Worthington                    Avatar, The Shack, Everest

Elizabeth Banks                      The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect

Jamie Bell                               TV’s “TURN: Washington’s Spies”, Snowpiercer, Fantastic Four

Anthony Mackie                      Avengers, The Hate U Give, Detroit

MANHUNT: UNABOMBER Arrives on Blu-ray and DVD December 26th

Based on the gripping true story of one of America’s most deadly domestic terrorist attacks, Manhunt: Unabomber arrives on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital) and DVD December 26 from Lionsgate. Discovery’s biggest scripted series of the year focuses on FBI profiler Jim Fitzgerald and his hunt for the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. Starring Sam Worthington and Paul Bettany and produced by Kevin Spacey, the series has quickly become one of the best-reviewed of the year. The Manhunt: UnabomberBlu-ray and DVD featurettes include a compelling interview with the real Jim Fitzgerald, and will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.99 and $19.98, respectively.

Check out the trailer:

Manhunt: Unabomber spotlights bureaucracy-battling FBI profiler Jim Fitzgerald’s pioneering use of forensic linguistics to find – and eventually capture – the infamous “Unabomber,” Ted Kaczynski.

BLU-RAY/DVD SPECIAL FEATURES

  • “Criminal Profiling” Featurette
  • “Who is the Unabomber?” Featurette
  • “Deciphering the Manifesto” Featurette

CAST

Sam Worthington                                Avatar, Clash of the Titans

Paul Bettany                                        The Avengers, Iron Man

Brían F. O’Byrne                                 TV’s “Brotherhood,” Million Dollar Baby

and Chris Noth                                    TV’s “Law & Order,” “Sex and the City,” and “The Good Wife”

THE HUNTER’S PRAYER Starring Sam Worthington Arrives on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD August 8th


Starring Sam Worthington, the action-packed thriller THE HUNTER’S PRAYER arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital), DVD, and Digital HD August 8 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The film is currently available On Demand.


Based on the novel by Kevin Wignall, the action-packed thriller The Hunter’s Prayer arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital), DVD, and Digital HD August 8 from Lionsgate. The film is currently available On Demand. Sam Worthington stars as a deadly assassin assigned to kill a young woman named Ella. When his conscience gets the best of him, he defies orders and instead protects Ella. Together they must escape the formidable enemies who are determined to kill them both at all costs. From Jonathan Mostow, the director of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machinesand Breakdown, and written for the screen by John Brancato & Michael Ferris (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Salvation), The Hunter’s Prayer home entertainment release includes three behind-the-scenes featurettes taking an in-depth look at the making of the film. The Hunter’s Prayer Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively.


A solitary assassin (Sam Worthington) is hired to murder a teenaged girl (Odeya Rush). When he can’t bring himself to do it, both are marked for death. The pair form an uneasy alliance and flee across Europe, hunted by powerful forces who will stop at nothing to kill them both.


BLU-RAY/DVD/DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES

  • “The Cost of Killing: Making The Hunter’s Prayer” Featurette
  • “The World of The Hunter” Featurette
  • “Creating The Driving Force” Featurette

CAST

Sam Worthington         Avatar, Clash of the Titans, The Shack, Hacksaw Ridge

Odeya Rush                Goosebumps, The Giver, We Are What We Are

WAMG Giveaway – Win THE SHACK on Blu-ray


Based on The New York Times Best-Selling Novel, An All-Star Cast Delivered an Uplifting Spiritual Message on Digital HD May 16 and Blu-ray and DVD  May 30 from Lionsgate


Based on the worldwide best-selling novel, with over 22 million copies in print, the inspirational story of faith and love, The Shack, arrivedd on Digital HD May 16, and will be on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand May 30 from Lionsgate. Starring Sam Worthington (Avatar, Hacksaw Ridge), Academy Award® winner Octavia Spencer (Best Supporting Actress, The Help, 2011) and country music superstar Tim McGraw (The Blind Side), The Shack takes us through a father’s experience learning the ultimate truth about love, loss, and forgiveness. The Christian movie event of the year, this “powerful and gripping” (The Dove Foundation) film has been awarded the Dove Faith Friendly Seal of Approval.

Now you can own THE SHACK Blu-ray. We Are Movie Geeks has FIVE copies to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite movie co-starring Sam Worthington (mine is HACKSAW RIDGE!). 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.

Based on The New York Times best-selling novel, written for the screen by John Fusco (The Forbidden Kingdom) and Andrew Lanham (The Glass Castle) & Destin Cretton (The Glass Castle), and directed by Stuart Hazeldine (Exam), The Shack takes us on a father’s transformative spiritual journey. After a family tragedy, Mack (Worthington) spirals into a crisis of faith and questions God’s existence and life’s purpose. Mack is unable to move on, until he gets a mysterious invitation to an abandoned shack. There, God reveals Himself in the form of three strangers led by Papa (Spencer). Mack’s journey will transform audiences of all ages, in this movie that you will want to watch over and over.


The Shack home entertainment release will feature audio commentary with director Stuart Hazeldine, five featurettes, and a deleted scene. The featurettes include look at the development of the book with author William Paul Young in “Touched by God: A Writer’s Journey”; a conversation with the filmmakers, cast and theologians to discuss the movie’s depiction of God in human form in “God’s Heart for Humanity”; the music video for the song “Heaven Knows” by Hillsong United, the in-depth “Something Bigger than Ourselves: The Making of The Shack” featurette and a look behind the scenes of the premiere in “Premiere Night: A Blessed Evening”. The Shack Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $39.99 and $29.95, respectively.


BLU-RAY/DVD/DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Audio Commentary with Director Stuart Hazeldine
  • “Touched by God: A Writer’s Journey” Featurette
  • “God’s Heart for Humanity” Featurette
  • “”Heaven Knows”: The Power of Song with Hillsong United” Featurette
  • “Something Bigger than Ourselves: The Making of The Shack” Featurette
  • “Premiere Night: A Blessed Evening” Featurette
  • Deleted Scene