Michael Angarano

HAYWIRE Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 19th, 2012 at 3:01 pm

Men are taught (or at least they should be taught) to never hit a woman.  The lesson is based on the assumption that women are physically weaker and don’t have the strength to defend themselves (also, hitting people isn’t very nice in general).  But what if the woman can not only hit back, but her job is to hit back and she knows how to hit back harder than anyone?  In Steven Soderbergh‘s Haywire, mercenary Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) is that woman, and Soderbergh is unapologetic about having her hit in return.  The film forces us to confront our convictions about the fragility of women, and where that belief comes from.  Is the movie a blow for equality in showing that women can take and dish out a beating like a man?  Is a woman’s physicality always sexual?  Haywire doesn’t have easy answers to these questions, but it has no problem asking them under the cover of a badass European flavored action-thriller.

Live-Action RUGRATS Trailer Is Beyond Disturbing

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 17th, 2012 at 3:59 pm

If you grew up in the 90s, odds are you spent countless hours enjoying the glorious original programming of Nickelodeon. While shows like The Adventures of Pete and Pete and Salute Your Shorts were definitely staples of my sophisticated Nickelodeon line-up, Rugrats was my rock. The animated series provided a goofy—and at times incredibly odd—look at life through the eyes of a group of toddlers. The loveable characters made for can’t-miss TV, and now Funny or Die has put together a rather disturbing trailer for a live-action version of the show.

The trailer takes the Requiem for a Dream approach with Rugrats and turns them all into psychopaths. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Parenthood star Mae Whitman plays Angelica (obviously), and she’s joined by Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development), Michael Angarano (Almost Famous, Red State), and Whitman’s Parenthood co-star Sarah Ramos. Hit the jump to watch the incredibly dark trailer.

3 Movie Clips and 37 Images from Steven Soderbergh’s HAYWIRE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 7th, 2012 at 6:00 pm

With director Steven Soderbergh’s spy-action pic Haywire opening January 20th, we’ve been provided with three clips and almost forty images from the film.  Staring MMA fighter Gina Carano as a burned spy who takes revenge against her handlers, Haywire also stars Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Angarano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, and Bill Paxton.

I’ve seen Haywire twice now and it’s fantastic.  On top of Carano’s star in the making performance, the action scenes are some of the best I’ve seen in years.   It’s absolutely something you should see in a theater.  Hit the jump for the clips and images and look for my exclusive video interviews with the cast next week.

New Trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s HAYWIRE Starring Gina Carano

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 4th, 2012 at 4:25 pm

A new trailer for director Steven Soderbergh’s spy-action pic Haywire has gone online. The movie centers on a burned spy (MMA fighter Gina Carano) who takes revenge against her handlers. Soderbergh has surrounded Carano with a stellar ensemble of familiar faces (including Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, and Michael Douglas), and the action scenes here look absolutely brutal. This new trailer delves a bit more into the plot, and it’s actually a tad spoiler-heavy by way of revealing a couple of the deaths that take place onscreen. Soderbergh’s an incredibly interesting director, and I’m intrigued to see how he handles a film this action-heavy  so it’s safe to say I’m anticipating Haywire quite a bit.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Channing Tatum, Michael Angarano, Antonio Banderas, and Bill Paxton. Haywire opens January 20th.

New Posters for THE AVENGERS and HAYWIRE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 20th, 2011 at 9:54 am

New posters have gone online for The Avengers and Haywire.  Marvel seems to be taking a page from Warner Bros’ Harry Potter playbook by churning out as many character posters as possible between now and the arrival of the movie.  We’ve already seen the character banners, but now Marvel is disassembling these banners into individual posters.

There’s also a new poster for Haywire and it shares the same eye-catching design as the previous one-sheets.  It even makes the actors’ face-boxes look cool.  Hit the jump to check out the new posters.  Haywire opens January 20, 2012.  The Avengers opens in 3D on May 4, 2012.

New Trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s HAYWIRE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 10th, 2011 at 9:44 am

A new trailer for Steven Sodebergh‘s spy-action flick Haywire has gone online.  The film stars MMA fighter Gina Carano as a burned spy who takes revenge against her handlers.  The new trailer again sells the basic concept: here’s a woman who’s really hot, and she’ll hit you so hard that all of your progeny will feel pain.  The plot looks like standard spy-movie fare, but it appears that Soderbergh is setting his movie apart by embracing the brutality of the fight scenes between Carano and her male co-stars, and questioning how far the audience is willing to go when it comes to seeing a woman getting hit even though she’s holding her own in the fight.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer.  The film also stars Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Angarano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, and Bill Paxton.  Haywire opens January 20, 2012.

First Images and Synopsis for THE BRASS TEAPOT Starring Juno Temple and Alexis Bledel

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 4th, 2011 at 7:35 pm

 

We’ve got the first images and synopsis for the drama The Brass Teapot from the American Film Market. The pic centers on a young broke couple who steal a teapot that produces cash whenever someone feels pain. Juno Temple (The Dark Knight Rises) and Michael Angarano (Red State) star as the young couple, with Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls) and Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) rounding out the cast. Written by Tim Macy, the film was directed by Ramaa Mosley. Hit the jump to check out the images and synopsis. [Update: We've removed the images at the request of the studio.]

Casting Call: Aubrey Plaza Joins CHARLIE SWAN, Paul Walker Toplines HOURS, and Michael Angarano Enrolls in THE ENGLISH TEACHER

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 5th, 2011 at 4:30 pm

We’ve got a few casting stories for you this afternoon. First up, Aubrey Plaza (who regularly kills it on NBC’s Parks and Recreation) has joined the cast of Roman Coppola’s A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charlie Swan III. The indie stars Charlie Sheen (essentially playing himself) as a successful graphic designer whose fame and fortune have made him irresistible to women. His life goes south quickly when his girlfriend breaks up with him, and he starts having delirious fantasies about his long list of exes. Variety reports that Plaza will play a producer who works with Sheen at his design company. The cast also includes Jason Schwartzman, who shared some screen time with Plaza in Judd Apatow’s Funny People.

Hit the jump for the casting news of the Hurricane Katrina thriller Hours and the Julianne Moore indie comedy The English Teacher.

Trailer for THE ART OF GETTING BY Starring Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts; Plus 2 New Images

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 20th, 2011 at 4:21 pm

Fox Searchlight has released the trailer for the coming-of-age drama The Art of Getting By (formerly titled Homework).  I caught the film at Sundance and kind of loathed the hell out of it, but maybe you like cloying movies with underdeveloped characters whining about how hard life is for white upper-class teenagers living in New York City.  If you enjoy movies like that, you will love The Art of Getting By.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer plus two new images from the film.  The Art of Getting By also stars Michael Angarano, Rita Wilson, and Blair Underwood.  The film opens in limited release on June 17th.

Writer-Director Max Winkler and Michael Angarano Video Interview CEREMONY

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 6th, 2011 at 1:17 pm

With writer/director Max Winkler’s feature debut Ceremony opening this weekend in limited release, I recently got to speak with Winkler and Michael Angarano.  Ceremony tells the story of a young man (Angarano) who falls in love with an older man’s fiancée (Uma Thurman) while spending a weekend at the older man’s beachside estate.  The film also stars Lee Pace, Rebecca Mader and Reece Thompson.

During the interview, Winkler and Angarano talked about what films influenced Ceremony, how Angarano got cast and how Jesse Eisenberg was originally the lead, what it was like to make the film and the way Angarano disappeared into the role, their go-to karaoke songs, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Trailer for CEREMONY Starring Michael Angarano and Uma Thurman

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 4th, 2011 at 10:52 am

The trailer for Ceremony has gone online.  Here’s the official synopsis:

Sam Davis (Michael Angarano) convinces his former best friend to spend a weekend with him to rekindle their friendship at an elegant beachside estate owned by a famous documentary filmmaker (Lee Pace). But it soon becomes clear that Sam is secretly infatuated with the filmmaker’s fiancee, Zoe (Uma Thurman), and that his true intention is to thwart their impending nuptials. As Sam’s plan begins to unravel, he is forced to realize how complicated love and friendship can be.

The movie looks like it could be a nice, light indie comedy and Pace seems like he’s having an absolute blast.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Ceremony is available On Demand on March 4th and opens in theaters on April 8th.

New Images from CEREMONY Starring Uma Thurman, Michael Angarano, and Lee Pace

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 29th, 2011 at 3:49 pm

Shortly after the poster premiere earlier this week, Magnolia Pictures has posted seven images for Ceremony.  Michael Angarano stars as a budding child ren’s book author who talks his former best friend (Reece Thompson) into a weekend at the beach house of a famous documentary filmmaker (Lee Pace): “It soon becomes clear that Sam is secretly infatuated with the filmmaker’s fiancée, Zoe (Uma Thurman), and that his true intention is to thwart their impending nuptials.”

Written and directed by Max Winkler, Ceremony premiered to positive notices at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.  View the images after the break.

New Posters for CEREMONY, HOMEWORK, and THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 26th, 2011 at 9:49 pm

We’ve got three posters tonight from films that have hit the festival circuit in the past few months.  Max Winkler’s Ceremony premiered to positive notices at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, led by Michael Angarano, Uma Thurman, Lee Pace.  Like Ceremony, Homework centers around a young writing talent, but wasn’t received quite as well at Sundance despite the affable presence of Freddie Highmore and Emma Thomas. Fellow Sundance entry The Devil’s Double isn’t about youth so much as it’s about Saddam Hussein’s son Uday and his body double Latif Yahia, but by all accounts it’s a solid twist on the gangster genre.  If that sounds interesting, you should definitely check out Steve’s interview with Dominic Cooper, who plays both Uday and Latif in the film.  View all three posters after the break:

Sundance 2011: RED STATE Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 24th, 2011 at 3:08 pm

Confidence is a crucial quality in a filmmaker.  Unlike the artistic expression of a painting or a novel, a film requires marshaling a small army to execute thousands of decisions in order to achieve a filmmaker’s vision.  Kevin Smith is not a filmmaker who exudes confidence.  After the noble failure of Jersey Girl, he retreated to the safety of Clerks II and then followed it up with the simple-yet-enjoyable Zack and Miri Make a Porno and the widely-despised Cop Out.  His new film, Red State, is a radical departure for Smith and yet he lacks the confidence to properly execute the action-horror-thriller he’s devised.  Visually and aurally impressive and featuring a phenomenal performance from Michael Parks, the film never completely comes together as it’s undermined by poorly-timed humor, clumsy exposition, and a refusal to trust the audience with ideas more complex than “fascism is bad.”

Sundance 2011: HOMEWORK Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 23rd, 2011 at 10:04 pm

Take every awful indie coming-of-age movie cliché, cram it into one film, fill it with terrible dialogue and bored-looking actors and you are starting to approach the disaster that is Gavin Wisen’s Homework.  If someone were making a parody of the modern art-house coming-of-age film, this would be it.  Despite a relatively-short 84 minute runtime, Homework is an interminable slog as we’re forced to suffer yet another movie about a privileged teenage who’s life is so perfect that he’s forced to conjure his own misfortune.

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