Author: Shari K. Green

FUN! Let’s check out the suspects for MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS!! *Character posters with clues!!

October 6, 2017 (updated October 6, 2017) Published by

Everyone has something to hide.  Every one of them is a suspect.

20th Century Fox has revealed new character posters for MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. 
Get a closer look at all of the suspects aboard! 

From the novel by best-selling author Agatha Christie, “Murder on the Orient Express” tells the tale of strangers stranded on a train, where everyone’s a suspect and clues are everywhere.  Kenneth Branagh directs and leads an all-star cast including Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley and Josh Gad.
When everyone is suspect, clues are everywhere.
Make sure to look for NEW clues hidden within the character posters! 

Visit CluesAreEverywhere.com to uncover more clues and learn about the suspects aboard the Orient Express.

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS hits theaters everywhere November 10, 2017!

TheAssistant

TheButler

TheConductor

TheCount

TheCountess

TheDetective

TheDoctor

TheGangster

TheGoverness

TheMaid

TheMissionary

TheOwner

ThePrincess

TheProfessor

TheSalesman

TheWidow

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay by: Michael Green

Based upon the Novel by: Agatha Christie

Produced by: Ridley Scott, Mark Gordon, Simon Kinberg, Kenneth Branagh, Judy Hofflund, Michael Schaefer

Cast: Tom Bateman, Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Marwan Kenzari, Olivia Colman, Lucy Boynton, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Sergei Polunin

SYNOPSIS

What starts out as a lavish train ride through Europe quickly unfolds into one of the most stylish, suspenseful and thrilling mysteries ever told. From the novel by best-selling author Agatha Christie, “Murder on the Orient Express” tells the tale of thirteen strangers stranded on a train, where everyone’s a suspect. One man must race against time to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again. Kenneth Branagh directs and leads an all-star cast including Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley and Josh Gad.

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Official Channels

WEBSITE: CluesAreEverywhere.com

FACEBOOK: Facebook.com/OrientExpressMovie

TWITTER: Twitter.com/OrientExpress

INSTAGRAM: Instagram.com/OrientExpressMovie/

#OrientExpressMovie

As Disney•Pixar’s “Coco” heads into theaters this Thanksgiving, the film’s soundtrack gears up for its debut!

October 4, 2017 Published by

AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 10

“COCO” SOUNDTRACK FEATURES ORIGINAL SONGS, A MEMORABLE SCORE AND TRADITIONAL MEXICAN SOUNDS

Grammy®-Winning Singers Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade to Perform End-Credit Version of “Coco” Signature Song “Remember Me”

BURBANK, Calif. (Oct. 4, 2017) – As Disney•Pixar’s “Coco” heads into theaters this Thanksgiving, the film’s soundtrack gears up for its debut. The film features an original score from Oscar®-winning composer Michael Giacchino, a song by Oscar winners Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and additional songs co-written by Germaine Franco and co-director and screenwriter Adrian Molina. Also part of the team is musical consultant Camilo Lara of the music project Mexican Institute of Sound. Plus, Grammy®-Winning Singers Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade are teaming up to record the end-credit version of the signature song “Remember Me.” Set for release from Walt Disney Records on Nov. 10, the physical CD is now available for pre-order HERE.

“Coco” tells the story of 12-year-old Miguel, an aspiring musician who hopes to follow in his idol’s famous footsteps despite his family’s ban on music. “‘Coco’ has music in its DNA,” said director Lee Unkrich.

Score

“Coco” features an original score from composer Giacchino, who wrote the Oscar®-winning score for Disney•Pixar’s 2009 film “Up.” “When I saw ‘Coco,’ a mosaic of emotions came over me,” said Giacchino.” “It made me think about my family and my connections to relatives back in Italy. This film speaks to everyone.”

Giacchino worked with Franco, who composed the score for 2015’s “Dope,” to supervise the orchestrations and realize an engaging and specific sound. “She illuminated the complex richness of Mexican music so well,” said Giacchino. “The collaboration between all the musicians on this film has been a beautiful experience.”

Added Franco, “We really wanted to marry this idea of original music with elements of Mexican music to create a unique balance of sound, harmony and rhythm.”

Franco explored a wide array of Mexican instrumentation in the score, including a guitarrón, folkloric harp, a quijada, sousaphone, charchetas, jaranas, requintos, marimba, trumpets and violins.

The score was recorded in August featuring an 83-piece orchestra.

Source Music

“Coco” also features traditional Mexican songs as source music, to bring to life Miguel’s town of Santa Cecilia. “Even though music isn’t allowed in his home, Miguel finds inspiration in the musicians who perform in his hometown plaza,” says co-director/screenwriter Adrian Molina. “Santa Cecilia—home of superstar Ernesto de la Cruz—is so full of music, it inspires Miguel to want to be a musician.”

Franco and musical consultant Camilo Lara of the music project Mexican Institute of Sound were called on to help create the soundscape of Miguel’s world, along with the assistance of cultural consultants Benjamín Juárez Echenque and Marcela Davison Avilés. Lara joined the music team early, helping filmmakers navigate various moments from the film through the spectrum of Mexican music—from cumbia to mariachi music. Said Lara, “From day one, the whole idea was to be as authentic as possible. We listened to a lot of music—from sophisticated to street. I think we managed to present a beautiful mosaic of the vast diversity of our music.

“I was also responsible for a magical session in Mexico City,” continues Lara. “We recorded a wide range of top Mexican musicians of many genres—banda, marimba, mariachi and son jarocho. We had top Mexican maestros. It was a mind-blowing experience.”

Original Songs – “Remember Me”

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who were behind the Oscar®-winning song “Let it Go” in 2013’s “Frozen,” penned the thematic song “Remember Me,” which is the signature song for beloved performer Ernesto de la Cruz in the movie. “The song is from the point of view of a person hoping to be remembered by a loved one,” said Anderson-Lopez. “But the lyric can be interpreted a few different ways depending on the tempo and tone of the music.”

End Credit Version

Grammy®-winning singers Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade teamed up to record the end-credit version of “Remember Me,” which Miguel and Steve Mostyn produced. “The song is special because it is about family and remembering where we come from,” says Miguel, who won his first Grammy® for best R&B song for the lead single “Adorn” in 2013. “It’s a reminder to be appreciative of the love and sacrifice that those before us had to make in order for us to be who we are. I think the message in the song is powerful enough to connect with everyone, but we’re adding another layer of depth and soul to the emotion of the song in this version.”

Added eight-time Latin Grammy® winner Lafourcade, “I feel very excited to be part of a Pixar movie because I have loved those films ever since I was little. I really enjoyed singing a song that gives life, color and joy to our Mexican traditions, as the Day of the Dead is one of my favorite traditions and celebrations of our culture.”

Original Songs – “Un Poco Loco,” “Everyone Knows Juanita,” “The World Es Mi Familia,” “Proud Corazón”

Franco worked with Molina to write several songs, including “Un Poco Loco,” a song in the son jarocho style of Mexican music performed by Miguel and Héctor on stage in the Land of the Dead. “This is one of my favorite types of Mexican music,” says Franco. “It involves a mix of indigenous, African and Spanish musical elements.”

Among other songs are the aspirational “The World Es Mi Familia” and the tongue-in-cheek lullaby “Everyone Loves Juanita.” “Proud Corazón” was penned for the final scene in the movie. “The lyrics in this song are probably the most personal to me,” said Molina. “It’s about filling your heart with the pride you have for your family, where you come from and who you’re connected to. [It] speaks to this connection across generations—between the Land of the Living and the Land of the Dead. Our thoughts, the memories in our hearts make it possible that our loved ones are always with us.”

The “Coco” soundtrack will be available from Walt Disney Records on Nov. 10. For more information on Walt Disney Records’ releases, check outFacebook.com/disneymusic, Twitter.com/disneymusic and Instagram.com/disneymusic.

Behind the Scenes clip of PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMEN

September 29, 2017 Published by
Watch as the cast of PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMEN marvel at the origin story of the most famous female superhero in comic book history in this NEW piece!
The film stars Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, and Bella Heathcote and is written and directed by Angela Robinson
In a superhero origin tale unlike any other, the film is the incredible true story of what inspired Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston to create the iconic Wonder Woman character in the 1940’s. While Marston’s feminist superhero was criticized by censors for her ‘sexual perversity’, he was keeping a secret that could have destroyed him. Marston’s muses for the Wonder Woman character were his wife Elizabeth Marston and their lover Olive Byrne, two empowered women who defied convention: working with Marston on human behavior research — while building a hidden life with him that rivaled the greatest of superhero disguises.
PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMEN Official Channels
#MARSTONMOVIE

In Theaters October 13th

http://www.fandango.com

New Trailer for “Darkest Hour” with Gary Oldman!

September 29, 2017 Published by

During the early days of World War II, with the fall of France imminent, Britain faces its darkest hour as the threat of invasion looms.  As the seemingly unstoppable Nazi forces advance, and with the Allied army cornered on the beaches of Dunkirk, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the leadership of the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman).  While maneuvering his political rivals, he must confront the ultimate choice: negotiate with Hitler and save the British people at a terrible cost or rally the nation and fight on against incredible odds.  Directed by Joe Wright, DARKEST HOUR is the dramatic and inspiring story of four weeks in 1940 during which Churchill’s courage to lead changed the course of world history. 

Director: Joe Wright (“Atonement,” “Hanna,” “Pride & Prejudice,” “Anna Karenina”)

Writer: Anthony McCarten (“The Theory of Everything”)

Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, Ronald Pickup, and Ben Mendelsohn

For more info, please follow the film on social:

Official Site I Facebook I Twitter I Instagram

#DarkestHour

In Theaters November 22nd

http://www.fandango.com

American Made – Movie Review

September 29, 2017 Published by

In this action, comedy based on the true story of Barry Seal, a pilot for TWA who starts taking pictures of drug smugglers for the CIA then become a drug smuggler himself, then become a… I’m getting ahead of myself.  In American Made, Tom Cruise reunites with his Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Linman, who also directed the films, Swingers, Go, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity.  He definitely knows how to put the comedy in action, not to mention the action in action, and him and Cruise pairing up to make this film is a truly winning combination.  You’ll barely have a chance to take a breath watching the escapades Barry Seal gets into.  The film is also very nostalgic in its presentation.  As if to steal its cue from Tarantino, American Made is edited to look older on purpose to lend to the truth-telling it’s doing but also to keep up the fun.  It certainly wasn’t wasted on the audience I watched it with.  They couldn’t get enough.

While in a bar, Seal, unhappy and bored with his job as a commercial pilot, is approached by a member of the CIA, Monty ‘Schafer’ (Gleeson) who seems to know everything about Seal, especially about a little extra money-making scam he has going on.  He could reveal it to the authorities or… Seal could work for them.  Slimy Schafer wants Seal to fly above certain areas of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador and capture photos of Commies in the middle of doing illegal acts.  Seal is worried if it’s something safe. Schafer isn’t worried.  Seal wonders if it’s legal.  Schafer assures him it is.  Americans are the good guys!  This does little to make Seal feel better about the job but takes the offer.  What he never really realizes, and this is important, is that he is not a member of the CIA much like an informant isn’t a police officer.  Had he stopped to think about this, he, as he tells us several times in the film in a documentary style that will be explained later, would have passed.

Seal lands at an airstrip and finds himself a not so happy reception from Pablo Escobar (Mejía) and Jorge Ochoa (Edda).  They, like everyone else he has run into of late, know everything about who he is and what he has been doing.  So, they make him an offer he can’t refuse… not that he could.  He doesn’t know how to turn down money, even when he can no longer find a place to put it.  Escobar starts having him taking flights full of cocaine to the states for them.  The scenes with Escobar are some of the most comical in the movie.  This was just before Nancy Reagan hit the country with her ‘Just Say No’ campaign so when you find out who is working for who, it makes that slogan look like a contrived scam to appeal to the little people and she a useful tool to frighten U.S. citizens.

Barry also becomes a gunrunner for Panamanian dictator, Noriega.  It’s quite interesting seeing how he’s wrapped up in this, too.  Seal’s life gets complicated and he’s often nervous, so is the audience as they’re trying to keep up with the players, but that’s what makes this film so likable.  There is a lot going on and you’re just there for the ride.  Maps are made available to make it easier to understand.  Seal and his wife are moved from Louisiana to Arkansas, in the middle of nowhere, where he is given his own hanger, home and hideaway.  On his land, the military begins training members of the rebellion.  The not so bright rebellion.

The entire cast of American Made is glorious.  They make the film work and help you with the flip-flopping back and forth of the tale itself… of what Barry Seal really went through.  With what’s going on today in politics, seeing what the American government had a hand in doing while jailing Americans for smoking a joint will have you wondering just exactly what happens behind the scenes.  It may have you questioning things and could make you a bit uneasy but this is well told and entertaining.  I highly recommend you don’t skip it.  It’s good that this serious issue was presented to the public in the manner of an action/comedy.  It needs to be seen and understood and though it is only based on the true story, the Iran-Contra affair is a good reminder that there is always a reason to question.

Woodshock – Movie Review

September 29, 2017 (updated September 29, 2017) Published by

WOODSHOCK

 

Kirstin Dunst has been working a lot lately, most recently in the remake of the film The Beguiled and her presence is very comforting.  She’s showing range with the characters she’s picking… she’s not a little girl anymore.  With this role, she’s a wee bit of a killer.  She plays Theresa, and also plays Executive Producer to the film itself.  Theresa is married to Nick (Cole), who works as a day laborer cutting down trees not far from home.  They live in an area surrounded by trees, live and dead ones, in a tiny home where they’ve also housed her very sick mother.  She talks to her mother about the pain she endures, which is making them both miserable.  Knowing a lot about extracts, Theresa decides to roll her a joint.  The joint has been laced with a few drops of something that will help the pain go away… forever.  She promises her mother a painless release.  Her mother smokes the joint and drifts away.  Having been incredibly close to her, Theresa finds it difficult to move on.  She does things anyone might do after the death of their mother.  She wears her clothes, looks in the mirror to find her mother inside of her and lays on the bed where she took her last breath.

She starts to smoke some of the special herb herself and here is where the movie turns into a nightmare for her.  Up until now, it has been a beautiful yet heartbreaking story of loss with fascinating cinematography by Peter Flinckenberg.  If you don’t like movies that are too alive and filled with motion, this could bother you some but the old-fashioned look they were going for, using filters and interesting fades, makes the film much more appealing during the trips Theresa takes in her mind.  She ends up there often and we see less and less of a truly clear picture.  The score was equally as engaging if not more so.  It was done by veteran Jake Jackson who has worked on such films as Love Actually, Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, The Road and Hell or High Water to name but a few.  These two artists enhance the splendor of watching Theresa’s struggle as she moves between being lucid and delusional.

She doesn’t spend much time with her husband anymore which isn’t helping her with her loneliness.  She starts working again at a friend, Keith’s (Asbaek), marijuana dispensary to feel a part of this world and to re-connect with life in general.  Store regular, Johnny (Kilmer) comes into the store and they hang out at a party.  This doesn’t lift her grief as she’d like so she retreats back into her habit of smoking her magic elixir.  When she does this, she isn’t sure of what it’s doing to her or what she’s doing to herself while under its influence.  She begins to rely on it and smokes so often that she’s starting to blend in with her surroundings and is barely able to recognize herself anymore.  She doesn’t smile and walks around almost completely lifeless.  Ed, an older gentleman who’s suffering from an unknown illness, comes into the store.  Per Keith’s instruction, she gives him what was given to her mother.  Somehow, the batches are mixed and it’s not Ed that gets the special mix.  Johnny does.  What has she done?  Not only is she torturing herself over this question, but Keith loses his mind and unleashes a ferocity on her she’s unable to handle.

The film gets rather twisted, as much as she is internally.  It’s very delicate in the way it treats her mother and Theresa’s clarity of mind to help her kill herself, but she is unable to handle her decision later and the filmmakers seem to somewhat lose the audience.  Again, Theresa walks amongst live trees but is surrounded by dead ones.  She doesn’t like trees being chopped down as they are alive and have the right to live.  She killed her mother.  She has a relationship with nature, loves it but is almost incapable of loving anything else. 

The movie draws from her pain and her desire to love and be loved; to be like her mother but the way it gets you to the end credits is slow moving and sometimes tiring.  A thrilling moment in the end when Theresa balances nature and rights things.  How we get to this point is by seemingly taking a long path through a thick brush and though you may enjoy the harmony of the music, editing and cinematography working together to create this dream state… you might not be able to get to the clearing.  If you’re a fan of the more ornamental, dramatic and eerily mysterious pictures, this is for you.  If a movie that decreases in its pacing and uses little dialogue that often acts more like a 3D piece of art than a film distracts you from your enjoyment of the said film, it isn’t.  Dunst and the rest of the cast are wonderful in their roles but will do little to help when the pacing gets you yawning.

*Playing exclusively at Harkins Camelview @ Fashion Square and Harkins Shea

Brad’s Status Movie Review

September 18, 2017 (updated September 18, 2017) Published by

Meet Brad.  He’s smart, he’s a good husband and father, he’s a philanthropist but, largely, he’s average.   Well, to himself, he’s average and at this point in his life that’s the worst thing he could be.  Brad (Stiller) is a guy who has found middle age an impossibly uncomfortable place to be.  With his son Troy (Abrams) about to go to college, he recalls what he was like at that age and thinks about all the things he wanted, the opportunities he had and what he did with those opportunities.  He has spent most of his adult life comparing himself to the friends he went to college with.  This hasn’t helped his self-esteem because most of them are successful, even famous in some circles.

Throughout the film, Brad tells us, through voice-overs, that he doesn’t like himself.  His inner thoughts, when he has a conversation with someone, is generally how awful a person he believes himself to be.  Since college, all his best friends have done well for themselves so, ‘what’s to like about me?’  Watching his son advance in life to the point of starting his college days, he worries Troy could turn out like him.  Another fear is, how will he feel if Troy turns out better?  What if he has all the success Brad only dreamed of?

Brad owns and operates a non-profit and though he lives in a nice home and all his needs are met, he believes his life’s work to be, in his words, ‘Absurd.’  He can’t see through all of his jealousy and his need to have more, be more. 

He continually focuses on his station or status in life, judging whether being wealthy or not speaks to what quality of a person you are.  He wonders how life would be if he were rich like his old friends, who live life as if it was a giant playground while he walks the earth with bills to worry about, finding his ground more in the battle variety. 

Where did it go wrong, he asks himself?  The voice-over is there to stay but don’t fret, it works correctly to advance the story.  He and Troy take a trip to Boston to visit some universities.  Troy misses the interview with Harvard and Brad calls on a powerful and influential friend, Craig, played by Michael Sheen. Craig comes through for him, beautifully and gets Troy in to speak with the dean.  This moment is big for this young musical prodigy and he’s proud of his father. 

There are several touching moments in the film between father and son.  Regarding the actual music in the film, it’s completely theatric and necessary.  During Brad’s inner dialogue, generally, the scene is accompanied by a single hopping bow across the bridge of a violin.  The sound emanating from the instruments F-Holes directed the mood Brad was in and highlighted the black cloud hanging over his head.  Every note heard fits into the scene perfectly; the film wouldn’t have been as good without it. 

Troy and Brad have dinner with a friend of Troy’s who already attends Harvard and within her, Brad sees the drive and the idealistic intentions he once had.  This was the turning point of the film where he tries to explain to her that wanting to help will not be appreciated and that instead, her efforts will go unnoticed and she’ll be forgotten about.  This conversation with her awakens him because through her judging eyes and her voice he hears and sees his own, or at least who he once was and would rather be again instead of this bitter man he has become.  He has a nice life, doesn’t struggle, but always wants more.  When will enough be enough? 

He hears of the passing of a favorite professor which hits him hard.  It’s this loss where Brad puts things more into perspective.  Family.  Love.  Time.  Those things are important.  His son, who doesn’t see him as a failure is who matters, not old friends that don’t call and who, as it turns out, aren’t exactly who he thought they were, after all.  Brad is alive.  Time to be alive and live for himself, not for any of them.

Again, the music throughout every scene is spectacular.  Though the character of Brad is depressing you a fair amount of the time, Ben does well with him, carrying the heavy load, so to speak.  Brad will frustrate at times and will move you to tears the next.  The best part is that at no time during this movie will you see a character like Derek Zoolander come through Stiller’s performance.  This is some of the best work I recall seeing from him.  Abrams’ portrayal of Troy is competent.  He has a real grasp of the character and is the perfect complement to Stiller’s Brad.  When Brad was at his most erratic, Abram watched his co-star and went completely in the opposite direction which thoroughly balanced the movie.

Photo Credit : Jonathan Wenk / Amazon Studios

*For more information, visit the website and check out the social pages:

WEBSITE: https://bradsstatus.movie/

FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/bradsstatus

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/bradsstatus

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bradsstatus/

HASHTAG: #BradsStatus

Red Sparrow Trailer

September 15, 2017 Published by

Here’s the first trailer for the upcoming spy thriller RED SPARROW starring Jennifer Lawrence has just been released by 20th Century Fox. Directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker and Jeremy Irons

RED SPARROW


Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay by: Justin Haythe
Based upon the book by: Jason Matthews
Produced by: Peter Chernin, Steve Zaillian, Jenno Topping
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker and Jeremy Irons

SYNOPSIS
Dominika Egorova is many things.
A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs.
A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit.
A master of seductive and manipulative combat.

When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands, with her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, including an American CIA agent who tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust.

RED SPARROW Official Channels
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: RedSparrowMovie.com   

FACEBOOK: http://fb.com/RedSparrowMovie 

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/RedSparrowMovie 

INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/RedSparrowMovie

HASHTAG: #RedSparrow

In Theaters March 2nd

http://www.fandango.com

Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode in HALLOWEEN

September 15, 2017 (updated September 15, 2017) Published by

Universal Pictures will release Trancas International Films, Blumhouse Productions and Miramax’s HALLOWEEN on Friday, October 19, 2018!

Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

Master of horror John Carpenter will executive produce and serve as creative consultant on this film, joining forces with cinema’s current leading producer of horror, Jason Blum (Get Out, Split, The Purge, Paranormal Activity).  Inspired by Carpenter’s classic, filmmakers David Gordon Green and Danny McBride crafted a story that carves a new path from the events in the landmark 1978 film, and Green also directs.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #HalloweenMovie


HALLOWEEN will be produced by Malek Akkad, whose Trancas International Films has produced the HALLOWEEN series since its inception.

Green and McBride will executive produce under their Rough House Pictures banner.

HALLOWEEN will be distributed worldwide by Universal Pictures.

American Assassin – Movie Review

September 15, 2017 (updated September 15, 2017) Published by

American Assassin is kind of your typical spy thriller in that it has a very Jack Reacher or Jack Ryan or whoever has the name Jack and is a detective of some sort these days, feel to it with one very big exception; those guys don’t have Michael Keaton walking around in their movie.  Keaton gives every performance a little something special and this is no different.  Mitch Rapp, the hero in the book series by Vince Flynn, and what will no doubt be a successful movie franchise now, does have Keaton. 

Mitch has the drive, strength and the determination to get his immediate goals accomplished, even sometimes acting before he thinks.  What I like about the characters is that he is rarely ever wrong and his mentor and guru, Stan Hurley (Keaton), has to bang his head against the walls to try and pound sense and procedure into him.  However, Mitch runs on adrenaline and something else… the sense of what is right and wrong.  Love drove him to be a vigilante and is what, ultimately, led him to Hurley, a retired SEAL.  Hurley’s now training a Black Ops mission led by Irene (Lathan) of the CIA.  Hurley knew and worked with Irene’s dad and though he doesn’t trust her instinct on young Mitch, he agrees to train him and see if he’s what they need for their counterterrorism operation. 

Irene first stumbled onto Mitch while following his digital footprint.  At the beginning of the film, Mitch (O’Brien) was proposing to his girlfriend on the beach when terrorists struck the area and started shooting everyone in sight.  Mitch was struck several times but not fatally.  While passing out from his wounds, his beautiful fiance’ lies dying beside him.  After, he is determined to bring down every terror cell he can.  He learns Arabic and studies their history and ideology.  He learns to fight, practices martial arts and masters weaponry.  He grows a beard and becomes a one-man killing machine out for revenge.  Everything you could want in a good guy and your new spy. 

On his own and without the help of anyone, Mitch gets close to a terrorist cell but is captured.  He’s saved at the last minute by the CIA.  When they tell him how stupid, naïve and dangerous his scheme was and tells him he was lucky to have been rescued, he reminds them of the fact that they followed him in, not the other way around.  However, what remains a recurring theme in the film is a question, ‘is Mitch too driven by emotion to be any good to a team?’  A big lesson Hurley needs to get through to him is to never let it get personal… it clouds the judgment.  The scenes where Mitch is being trained are difficult but he takes his licks and remembers his training.  These scenes are entertaining and imaginative but in thinking of the training the actors had to go through to get all the training and fighting scenes shot, I couldn’t help but wince some watching it. 

Before long, Hurley decides Mitch is their guy and they go out on a mission to recover stolen plutonium.  Iranian operatives intend on making a nuclear weapon and must be stopped.  There are other characters introduced and some character driven subplots come and go, which all work in the film’s favor, especially when it comes to the most important one of all, Ghost (Kitsch).  He is a former student of Hurley’s with a chip on his shoulder.  He has different plans for the bomb once the trigger and a physicist is found to make it complete.  His plans are to get back at Hurley and the country that let him down.  Taylor Kitsch does a good job in a scene having fun torturing his old guru.  He may have had too much fun with it, in fact.  Dylan O’Brien, almost a Taylor Kitsch look alike, is terrific in this film, both looking the part and handling the script.  He’ll make a very admirable spy movie hero for both new and old fans of the genre, alike.

I liked American Assassin and I think you will, too.  Don’t take it too seriously; know you’re going to be captivated by this world for a while.  Just sit back and enjoy the show.  I did and I was in no way influenced by the audience I watched the screening of the movie with, which were a whole lot of Phoenix police officers who have read the series, love Mitch Rapp and are going to be there to support this film and any that follow.  I support it because it did one thing and that was, it entertained the hell out of me.  I am looking very forward to the next one.  This is a fresh perspective on an overly used but seemingly timeless subject and was appreciated.  It’ll be enjoyed by anyone who likes action thrillers and it’ll please them more by giving them a new hero to look up to.

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