Clive Owen

Sundance 2012: SHADOW DANCER Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 29th, 2012 at 2:11 pm

It’s great when movies are a slow burn, but to qualify for that description there needs to be at least some heat.  James Marsh‘s Shadow Dancer moves at a glacial pace and barely does anything to build tension.  There’s hardly any urgency and no interest in the intrigue.  A compelling lead performance is essential to making a film like this working, but actress Andrea Riseborough meanders through her role and fails to convey any deeper emotions or conflict.  Some movies can be effective “anti-thrillers” where they play against expectations and still manage to generate drama.  Shadow Dancer just seems to be against thrills.

KILLER ELITE Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: January 19th, 2012 at 11:00 am

Jason Statham is like the only fast food restaurant in a small town. There’s really no other actor who can be counted on to deliver action films on a regular basis, and Statham fills that need at least once or twice yearly. Sometimes you just want a burger, and sometimes you just want to see Statham kick the crap out of someone. Killer Elite brought together Statham, Robert De Niro, and Clive Owen for playtime, and though the two others are relatively serious actors, here they’re playing on Statham’s turf. The results are a little sluggish, but deliver what’s expected. Our review of Killer Elite on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Start Date for Spike Lee’s OLDBOY Pushed Back; Clive Owen Unlikely to Play Villain

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 6th, 2012 at 1:12 pm

Men in Black 3 is why we can’t have nice things. Production on Spike Lee’s remake of Oldboy was gearing up to begin this spring, but now due to star Josh Brolin’s press commitments for the trouble-laden Men in Black 3, Variety’s Jeff Sneider reports that the start date has been pushed to late summer/early fall. But that’s not all, as Sneider quickly followed up with the bad news that Clive Owen is now unlikely to take on the villain role in the pic. Details on why Owen may pass aren’t given, but it’s possible that the production move caused scheduling difficulties (though creative differences/monetary disputes could also be the culprit).

Owen makes the third such actor (that we know of) to turn down a part in the pic, as Colin Firth and Christian Bale both declined the villain role and Rooney Mara turned down the female lead. Last we heard, an offer was out to Mia Wasikowska for the female role, but news on that front has been quiet. I’m still eagerly anticipating Lee’s take on the story, but the casting troubles do give me pause. Hopefully the director is able to round the cast out with some fine actors sooner rather than later.

Clive Owen Offered Villain Role in Spike Lee’s OLDBOY Remake [UPDATED: Mia Wasikowska Offered Female Lead]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 16th, 2011 at 2:29 pm

Director Spike Lee is gearing up to start production on his remake of Oldboy here pretty soon, and he continues to zero in on his cast. Josh Brolin is set to play the protagonist, a man who is inexplicably imprisoned for 15 years, only to be set free and sent on a hunt to track down those responsible for his abduction and imprisonment. Colin Firth was first approached to take on the villain role, and confirmed as much a few weeks ago, but he’s since passed on the role. Now Twitch reports that Lee has offered the part to Clive Owen.

While I was really hoping to see Firth in the role, Owen isn’t a bad substitute. He’s got the sophistication thing down, and it’ll be interesting to see him square off against Brolin. Owen and Lee have a bit of history together, as Owen starred in Lee’s underrated thriller Inside Man, so their relationship probably bodes well for the chances of Owen accepting the offer. Now to see whom Lee chooses as his female lead. [Update: Well that was fast; Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right) has apparently been offered the female lead. Hit the jump for more.]

Clive Owen to Star in Action Drama RECALL

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 7th, 2011 at 2:23 pm

Clive Owen has come on board to star in the action drama Recall.  Per Variety, “Owen will play an NSA agent trying to piece together the events of a botched hostage rescue operation. As he begins to recall events and unearth the truth, he finds he can trust neither his fellow soldiers nor his own mind.”  That sounds like it could be a great movie, especially since Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) wrote the script.  The only question mark is director Harold Becker, who hasn’t directed a movie since 2001′s Domestic Disturbance. The production is eying a March start date and plans to shoot in Bulgaria and Washington, D.C.

Owen will be seen in theaters next year in the spy thriller Shadow Dancer, and he’s playing Ernest Hemingway opposite Nicole Kidman in the TV movie Hemingway & Gellhorn.  I’m curious to see how Owen’s Hemingway performance compares to Corey Stoll’s memorable work from Midnight in Paris.

TOP 5: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, COMMUNITY, KILLER ELITE, J. EDGAR Trailer, How to Talk to Your Kids About STAR WARS

by Jason Barr    Posted: September 24th, 2011 at 10:01 am

In this, the first official Saturday of fall for countries in the Northern Hemisphere, I’m happy to report that temperatures in the Midwest are down to a brisk 60 degrees Fahrenheit. As someone who can’t be in the sun/heat for more than fifteen minutes without experiencing incapacitating sunburns, this is a welcomed change to be sure. On a separate note, readers of the site may have noticed that my productivity has decreased in the last week. In a bittersweet piece of news, I’ve taken on full-time employment in the wide world of telecommunications thus explaining my absence. Nevertheless, I’m going to do my level best to keep the “Top 5″ coming each and every weekend for as long as I can. As for today…

…In this week’s installment, you can find the new, nearly four-minute trailer for David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Community interviews with Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs and more, Killer Elite interviews with Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Yvonne Strahovski and director Gary McKendry, the first trailer for Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar and an ultra-important PSA teaching parents how to talk with their kids about Star Wars. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

KILLER ELITE Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 22nd, 2011 at 3:02 pm

At some point in the script stage, Killer Elite had the potential to be a good movie.  It takes two opposing characters that have equally valid, noble motives and pits them against each other.  Unfortunately, that interesting premise is drowned by paper-thin characters, idiotic writing, action movie clichés, and dull set pieces.  Even as a generic action movie, it falls far short of its low bar.

Exclusive: Clive Owen Talks KILLER ELITE, CHILDREN OF MEN, HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN and CITIES at TIFF

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 20th, 2011 at 11:49 am

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to land an exclusive interview with Clive Owen for his new action-thriller Killer Elite.  Also starring Robert De Niro, Jason Statham and Yvonne Strahovski, the flick centers on a retired special ops agent (Statham) who is tasked with rescuing his mentor (De Niro).   I caught the film at TIFF and if you’re a fan Statham and the rest of the cast, it’s definitely worth seeing.  Here’s the trailer.

During the interview, Owen talked about being at TIFF, how he get involved with Killer Elite, how he prepares for action scenes and how many takes does he like to do, and what’s the typical amount of time to get ready for a role.  In addition, we talked about Philip Kaufman’s Hemingway & Gellhorn with Nicole Kidman (it airs in 2012), Alfonso Cuarón’s amazing Children of Men, upcoming projects like Cities, and a lot more.  Hit the jump for the audio and transcript.

TIFF 2011: INTRUDERS Review

by Phil Brown    Posted: September 16th, 2011 at 11:54 am

I feel pretty conflicted about Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s Intruders. On the one hand I recognize that the director is trying to play with the horror genre a bit and take a more psychological and intellectual approach to what starts off as a fairly conventional ghost story. The thing is that I’m not entirely convinced that the experiment works, but I am entirely convinced that it’s not scary. I admire the attempt to create something different, but no matter how hard I tried and could never fully enjoy the movie. I guess you could call it a failed experiment and that’s a shame because it’s only the third film in Frenadillo’s 10 year career (after Intacto and 28 Weeks Later) and I desperately hoped that Intruders would build on the promise of his previous movies. Instead, I got a noble failure and will probably now have to wait another four years or so until he releases another movie and hopefully sets things right. Sigh…whatcha gonna do? Hit the jump for all the disappointing details.

4 Clips from KILLER ELITE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 5th, 2011 at 3:30 pm

Four clips from the action flick Killer Elite have gone online.  The convoluted plot centers on a retired special-ops agent (Jason Statham) who must leave his peaceful life and do some more murdering in order to free his mentor (Robert De Niro).  Meanwhile, he’s being tracked by former SAS operative (Clive Owen) who works for a shadowy organization known as The Feathermen.  If these clips give you the impression that the film isn’t very good, then these clips honestly represent the movie.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  Killer Elite opens September 23rd.

New Trailer for KILLER ELITE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 3rd, 2011 at 9:25 am

You know what I haven’t seen in a really long time?  A Jason Statham movie with a lot of violence.  Thank goodness for Killer Elite because I think this action-thriller genre could really fit Statham’s acting style.  There’s punching, shooting, explosions, and you don’t really see that in his movies any more.  Also, making the movie look like it was shot almost entirely through a blue filter?  Inspired.  And you also have Robert De Niro once again showing that he is in no way just collecting a paycheck.

Oh, darn.  I ran out of sarcasm.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer and hear idiotic lines like “It isn’t over until both sides say it is.”  Killer Elite opens September 23rd.

UK Trailer for INTRUDERS Starring Clive Owen

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 25th, 2011 at 10:30 am

The UK trailer for the horror flick Intruders has gone online.  The story focuses on two families, on in Britain and the other in Spain and a child from each family being haunted by a dark specter.  Clive Owen plays the father of the British girl who sees the shadowy figure and his skepticism turns to the horror when he discovers that the malevolent creature is real.  I really hope that Intruders isn’t going to be “Trust but with a menacing apparition instead of a rapist.”  They certainly seem to share theme of a father struggling with his inability to protect his child.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Carice van Houten, Daniel Bruhl, Pilar Lopez de Ayala, and Kerry Fox.  Intruders opens in the UK and the US on October 7th.

New Posters for FINAL DESTINATION 5, KILLER ELITE, and 30 MINUTES OR LESS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 29th, 2011 at 2:09 pm

New posters have been release for Final Destination 5, Killer Elite, and 30 Minutes or Less.  What’s great about each of these posters?  Final Destination 5: You can’t go wrong with exploding skulls.  Killer Elite: Clive Owen ‘stache.  30 Minutes or Less: Absolutely nothing.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Final Destination 5 opens August 12th.  Killer Elite opens September 23rd.  30 Minutes or Less opens August 12th.

New Trailer and Images for KILLER ELITE Starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert De Niro

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: June 22nd, 2011 at 8:17 pm

Open Road Films has released new images and the first trailer for the Jason Statham actioner Killer Elite.  It has everything a man could want: guns, explosions, a bikini butt closeup, “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” Clive Owen’s mustache… the list goes on.  I kid, mostly — the trailer is a blast.  Killer Elite looks like a treat for fans of pure action.

Statham plays an ex-special ops agent lured out of retirement to rescue his mentor, played by Robert De Niro: “To make the rescue, he must complete a near-impossible mission of killing three tough-as-nails assassins with a cunning leader (Owen).”  Yvonne Strahovski and Dominic Purcell also star.  Directed by Gary McKendry, Killer Elite hits theaters on September 23.  Hit the jump for the trailer and images.

Exclusive New Image from KILLER ELITE Starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 20th, 2011 at 8:57 am

Open Road Films has provided us with an exclusive image from their upcoming release Killer Elite.  Based on a true story, the film centers on an ex-special ops agent (Jason Statham) who is tasked with rescuing his mentor (Robert De Niro).  Directed by Gary McKendry, the film stars Statham, De Niro, Clive Owen and Yvonne Strahovski.  Hit the jump to check out the image, featuring Statham and Owen going toe-to-toe. Killer Elite hits theaters on September 23^rd.

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