John Leguizamo

ICE AGE: A MAMMOTH CHRISTMAS Blu-ray Review

by Seth Oyer    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 5:00 am

Let me start by saying that I have not seen the entirety of the Ice Age movies.  I have seen small parts at a time but this was my first full experience with these characters.  I watched it with my 4-year old daughter as well, so I can offer some of her perspective (if it seems more mature than mine, I am sure it is simply an error in reading skills).

It had been a long time since I had seen a “new” animated Christmas special.  My daughter and I regularly watched animated holiday videos this season like Charlie Brown, Rudolph, and Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas (which I believe still holds up). Hit the jump for my review of Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas on DVD.

VANISHING ON 7TH STREET Blu-ray Review

by Scott Wampler    Posted: July 8th, 2011 at 5:47 am

Brad Anderson is– in this humble critic’s opinion– one of our most underappreciated directors.  This is the guy that made my absolute favorite horror movie of the decade (Session 9, see it immediately if you’ve never caught it), the guy that pulled the best performance I’ve ever seen out of Christian Bale (The Machinist, a film I doubly appreciate for its inherent weirdness and its frequent pseudo-references to Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor), the guy that made… Next Stop Wonderland?  Well, everyone’s gotta stop somewhere.  Anderson’s most recent stop?  The Vanishing on 7th Street, which arrived to not a lot of critical acclaim last year.  Is the film as pedestrian and disappointing as you might’ve heard?  Does star Hayden Christensen turn in an Attack of The Clones-level performance?  Find out after the jump, folks…

THE LINCOLN LAWYER Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 18th, 2011 at 7:09 am

The majority of Matthew McConaughey’s filmography for the last decade could be charitably described as “less-than-good” and uncharitably described as “an abomination”.  Even McConaughey seemed unengaged from the material in a way that seemed to say, “Yeah, these movies are crap, but I’ve got a million-dollar smile and unlike most men, I look even hotter when I’m sweaty so the ladies love me.  Enjoy Fool’s Gold.”  There’s a greasy charm to the majority of his performances and his rom-com “appeal” (I use that term loosely) has overshadowed his genuinely good work in more dramatic films like Lone Star and Frailty.

And yet it’s McConaughey’s smug huckster attitude that elevates The Lincoln Lawyer from a forgettable legal drama to a breezy, exciting thriller that’s ironically only slowed down when McConaughey lessens his bravado to take a swing at the story’s more dramatic beats.

Lionsgate Moves Up ONE FOR THE MONEY to June 3

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: March 1st, 2011 at 8:33 pm

Lionsgate has moved the Katherine Heigl-led comedy One for the Money from July 8 to June 3.  On the original July release date, One for the Money would have been one of three comedies opposite The Zookeeper and Horrible Bosses.  Variety suggests the switch is counterprogramming tactic; action tentpole X-Men: First Class is the only other film scheduled for June 3.

Heigl plays “a down-and-out woman who takes a last-ditch job working for her cousin’s bail bond business, and her biggest client turns out to be her high-school heartbreaker.”  Jason O’Mara, John Leguizamo, and Debbie Reynolds also star, directed by Julie Anne Robinson (The Last Song) from a script by Liz Brixius (Nurse Jackie).  One for the Money is based on the novel of the same name by Janet Evanovich; hit the jump for a synopsis.

New Trailer for THE LINCOLN LAWYER Starring Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Phillipe

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 21st, 2010 at 8:54 pm

Lionsgate has released a new trailer for The Lincoln Lawyer, an adaptation of the best selling novel by Michael Connelly.  Matthew McConaughey stars as Mickey Haller, “a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln sedan.”  Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, and Bryan Cranston also star.  Brad Furman (The Take) directs from a script by John Romano (Nights in Rodanthe).  Check out the new trailer after the jump.

New Trailer for VANISHING ON 7TH STREET

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 6th, 2010 at 8:30 pm

Magnet has released a new trailer for Vanishing on 7th Street, with enough footage not found in the first to be worth a look.  Directed by Brad Anderson (The Machinist) follows a group of strangers who survived when “an unexplained blackout plunges the city of Detroit into total darkness, and by the time the sun rises, only a few people remain.”  Hayden Christensen (Takers), John Leguizamo (Gamer),  Thandie Newton (2012), and newcomer Jacob Latimore star.

Hit the jump for the trailer and official synopsis.

MOULIN ROUGE Blu-ray Review

by Monika Bartyzel    Posted: November 19th, 2010 at 12:12 pm

The frenetic, color-infused world of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge has now descended upon the Blu-ray shelves, where Nicole Kidman’s Satine and Ewan McGregor’s Christian find impossible love in courtesan-filled streets  of late nineteenth century Paris. Though it’s the sort of film that demands to be seen on Blu-ray, this is a release just as pleasing for its cohesive extras as it is for the color-amped proceedings that unravel throughout the film.  More after the jump:

Trailer and New Images for THE VANISHING ON 7TH STREET Starring Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, and John Leguizamo

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 18th, 2010 at 11:18 am

I didn’t know much about Brad Anderson’s upcoming horror film The Vanishing on 7th Street, but after seeing the trailer I think the film looks pretty sweet.  The movie is about a the mass dissaperance of apparently the entire world’s population, and the need to stay in the light in order to remain non-disappeared. I dig the cool Twilight Zone-esque premise.  I also like seeing John Leguizamo not react to a terrifying phenomenon with math puzzles.  The film also stars Hayden Christensen and Thandie Newton.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer, images and the synopsis.  The Vanishing on 7th Street will be playing as part of the Midnight Madness program at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

EVERYTHING MUST GO, Starring Will Ferrell, Heads to the Toronto International Film Festival; THE VANISHING ON 7th STREET and BUNRAKU to also Play

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 9th, 2010 at 9:23 am

The upcoming dramedy Everything Must Go is headed to this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  Based on the Raymond Carver short story, Dan Rush’s low-budget dramedy centers on a recovering alcoholic (played by Will Ferrell) “who falls off the wagon, is tossed from both his job and home, and must survive on his front lawn by selling his belongings in a yard sale.”  Ferrell scored another hit this weekend when The Other Guys scored $35.6 million at the box office this weekend.  While I enjoyed the film, I always want to see Ferrell in roles outside his comfort zone and his part in Everything Must Go sounds like one of them.

THR also reports that Brad Anderson’s thriller The Vanishing on 7th Street, starring Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo, and Guy Moshe’s action noir movie Bunraku, starring Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson, will play at the festival.  The 2010 Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 9 – 19th.

CARLITO’S WAY and SPARTACUS 50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Reviews

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: May 28th, 2010 at 6:32 am

Between Carlito’s Way and Spartacus on Blu-ray we see the greatness and weakness of Blu. When it comes to modern films – and with more films shot digitally – you don’t find a lot of recent films that look bad on the format. And even if a film is still shot on film (even 16mm, as with The Wrestler) the material is supervised by the makers, and the source material is going to be pristine. But when it comes to older films, the material can be lacking, and decisions can be made to smooth out or remove grain. With many of the creative team behind these films no longer with us, you could argue there’s no right answer, just preference. And then you have the case of The French Connection where the director changes the color palette on what appears to be his whim. No one’s going to complain about Carlito’s Way’s transfer, but a number of people are pissed off at Universal for the Spartacus Blu-ray, while others think it looks fine. My reviews of Spartacus and Carlito’s Way on Blu-ray are after the jump.

First Images from Brad Anderson’s VANISHING ON 7TH STREET

by Matt Currie    Posted: May 18th, 2010 at 9:36 pm

When I first heard about Vanishing on 7^th Street a few months back, I was intrigued. First of all, it follows a group of people suffering through the aftermath of the mass, unexplained disappearance of seemingly everyone else in the world: an awesome concept that’s right up my alley. Add to that a really cool director in Brad Anderson (The Machinist) and you’ve got something that should rate pretty high on the flicks-to-watch-for meter.  But ultimately, you just never know until you see some kind of visual evidence.

Well, now we’ve got some. Quiet Earth has the first five stills from the film and while there’s not a whole lot going on in most of them, they are freaking gorgeous, absolutely oozing stylish creepiness. Vanishing, which should drop some time in 2010, is officially one of my most anticipated films of the year.  Hit the jump to check out the images.  Vanishing on 7th Street stars Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, and John Leguizamo.

George Romero’s SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD Review

by Ti Alan Chase    Posted: April 10th, 2010 at 2:05 pm

“Survival isn’t just for the living.”  So says the tagline for Survival of the Dead, the most recent addition to George Romero’s zombie oeuvre. It’s a great premise.

Romero effectively created the zombie genre with Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978).  But it was with 1985′s Day of the Dead that he introduced the unique notion that the living dead could rise above their mindless craving for human flesh and could relearn human behaviour.  Twenty years later, when he finally made a fourth Dead movie – 2005′s Land of the Dead -  he expounded further on that idea, going so far as to make his signature black hero a zombie instead of a living human.  More after the jump:

Hayden Christensen to star in Director Brad Anderson’s VANISHING ON SEVENTH STREET

by Ramses Flores    Posted: August 27th, 2009 at 9:05 am

Hayden Christensen has signed on to star in Brad Anderson’s (“The Machinist) next film, “Vanishing on Seventh Street”. The film will be about five survivors who fight to stay alive while grappling with the meaning of existence in a once-thriving city where shadowy forms cause residents to inexplicably disappear. Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo are also in negotiations to star in this indie thriller. To find out who they might be playing you can click on the jump.

5 Movie Clips from Neveldine/Taylor’s GAMER – Plus 2 TV Spots

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 25th, 2009 at 6:43 pm

If you’re like me and have been looking forward to “Gamer”, the next film from Neveldine/Taylor, I’ve got some cool stuff to share. That’s because I was just provided with 5 clips from their new film! So if you need a taste of what’s coming from the crazy minds behind “Crank” and “Crank: High Voltage”, click the jump and take a look. Also, make sure you watch clip 4, as I’m pretty sure that Terry Crews really did the stunt. It’s crazy.

5 New Images from Neveldine/Taylor’s GAMER

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 5th, 2009 at 12:18 pm

As you’ve probably noticed, I’m promoting the shit out of Neveldine/Taylor’s next movie “Gamer”. They send me new images, I keep posting them. What can I say, I’m a fan. Anyway, since I’ve already gone on and on about this movie in previous posts, I’ll let the new images do the talking. So after the jump, check them out.

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