Writer/director David Ayer has more than a passing familiarity with the heroes and villains of law enforcement.  He’s been behind the pen of Training Day, S.W.A.T., Dark Blue and Harsh Times, while stepping behind the camera for the latter film, as well as Street Kings. His latest effort, End of Watch, has him pulling double duty, but giving up some camera control to his principal leads Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña.  In bringing some aspects of “found footage” into an action movie following two street cops on their daily grind, Ayer has managed to find another layer of realism that makes his films so enjoyable.  Hit the jump for our breakdown of End of Watch on Blu-ray, including the highlight of Ayer’s directorial commentary that makes the film easily worth a repeat viewing.

The gritty and intense crime drama End of Watch, available on DVD/Blu-ray on January 22^nd, tells the story of LAPD officers Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Peña), who patrol the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles.  Shot documentary-style, the action unfolds through footage from the handheld HD cameras of the police officers, gang members, surveillance cameras and citizens caught in the line of fire to illustrate how cops risk their lives, every day.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, writer/director David Ayer talked about how relieved he was with the film’s success, how much audiences responded to the characters’ relationship and the actors’ performances, how he gauges which scenes to cut and which scenes to keep, including his original alternate ending with the deleted scenes, and why he finds himself so drawn to cop stories.  He also talked about the experience he had directing Arnold Schwarzenegger on Ten, about members of an elite DEA task force who find themselves being taken down one-by-one after they rob a drug cartel safe house, how the action in that film compares to the action in his previous films, the stylistic approach he took, how he hopes to take the film to Comic-Con, and that he’s currently writing a World War II tank movie.  Check out what he had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

David Ayer‘s End of Watch was a surprisingly solid flick even though it was burdened by an unnecessary found-footage device.  However, when it was released in September, it seemed to be a film that found moderate success (it tied for first at the box office on its opening weekend), and then quietly slipped away.  Surprisingly, the film might now be in the awards hunt after it picked up Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Michael Peña) and Best Cinematography (Roman Vasyanov).  Jake Gyllenhaal recently did an interview with Hitfix’s In Contention blog, and now Open Road has announced that they’re sending End of Watch back into theaters on December 7th.  It’s not a bad move since the only competition it will face is Playing for Keeps.

Hit the jump for the press release, click here for my review of the film, and click on the respective links for Steve’s interviews with Ayer, Peña, Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick and Natalie Martinez.

The nominations for the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards have been announced, and Oscar hopefuls Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom lead the pack.  Both films picked up nominations for Best Feature, Director, and Screenplay with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper landing acting noms for SLP and Bruce Willis garnering a swell Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work in Moonrise Kingdom.  Beasts of the Southern Wild, Bernie, and Keep the Lights On round out the Best Feature nominees, while The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Safety Not Guaranteed were singled out for the Best First Feature award.  Also, Matthew McConaughey pulled double nominations for his stellar work in this year’s Magic Mike and Killer Joe, landing a Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor nod, respectively.  Notably shut out of the race entirely was Leos Carax‘s critically-lauded Holy Motors.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominations.  The winners of the 2013 Spirit Awards will be announced on Saturday, February 23, 2013.

With less than $300,000 separating the top three films this weekend, the final order of the domestic top ten has been difficult to call. Sunday’s estimates have End of Watch and House at the End of the Street tied for first with $13 million each. Warner Brother’s Trouble with the Curve is not far behind, however, so more definitive results will have to wait until Monday. One thing we can say for sure? Dredd 3D is off to a rough start.

Last night, I managed to squeeze in a double feature of Dredd 3D and The Master. While I wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of not having a 2D showing available to choose from, I have to admit that director Pete Travis‘ film provided me with my first 3D screening since 2010′s Piranha 3D that actually felt worth the extra dimension and additional ticket price. As for The Master, it’s probably unfair to judge something so heavy after a single viewing. That said, my initial reaction is that I can’t remember watching a film where its individual parts so far exceed the sum the first time around. From top to bottom the pic’s technicality is superb. And yet, I don’t see myself in any hurry to revisit Paul Thomas Anderson‘s latest world.

Moving forward to the reason we’re all here, in this week’s episode of the Top 5, The Hobbit celebrates Tolkien Week in a big way with a new trailer and images, we get our first looks at a new suit from director Jose Padilha‘s Robocop reboot, Steve sits down to talk End of Watch with Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick, and more, Kick-Ass 2 set images continue to roll out while Aaron Johnson talks about the film at TIFF, and Fantastic Fest 2012 kicks off. Continue reading for a brief recap and link to each.

Welcome to another disappointing weekend at the domestic box office. Four new titles debuted on Friday, but none is expected to reach $15 million by Sunday. That means that overall profits will be down for the fifth frame in a row. Despite the low grosses, Friday’s top five contained a few surprises. Few expected big things from End of Watch, the cop drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal; but after posting a Friday estimate of $4.6 million from just 2,730 runs, the R-rated indie has a shot at winning the weekend with a projected $13.5 million. Relativity’s House at the End of the Street was also a surprise ‘hit’ on Friday, earning an estimated $4.64 million from 3,083 locations to edge out End of Watch for first. The PG-13 thriller with Jennifer Lawrence is expected to fall in the rankings this weekend, but should still end up with $13 million for its first three days. Meanwhile, the film that was supposed to eclipse both of these smaller-releases – Warner Brother’s Trouble with the Curve – will struggle to match them this weekend. The baseball drama starring Clint Eastwood earned $4.1 million from 3,212 locations on Friday, making it unlikely that the PG-13 pic will reach the $18 million first-weekend that was projected. Finally, an enthusiastic reception at Comic-Con promised a solid opening for Lionsgate’s 3D comic reboot Dredd 3D. Instead, the R-rated feature took in just $2.2 million for what looks like a dismal $6.5 million first weekend.  We’ll have full details and analysis tomorrow.

Opening this weekend is director David Ayer’s (Harsh Times) police thriller End of Watch.  The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as two Los Angeles beat cops who find themselves marked for death after a routine traffic stop turns into an epic drug bust that interferes with a notorious cartel.  Unlike Ayer’s previous films which focused on corrupt police officers, Gyllenhaal and Peña play honest cops trying to make a difference.  In addition, most of the movie was filmed with handheld cameras, and Ayer’s POV shots put the audience right in the middle of the action.  Trust me, End of Watch is definitely worth your time and the chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Peña is a lot of fun. For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review, my video interviews with Ayer and Gyllenhaal, twenty things to know from my set visit, and all our previous coverage.  End of Watch also stars Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, America Ferrera, Cody Horn and Frank Grillo.

Last week at the Toronto Film Festival I was able to speak with Michel Peña.  We talked about premiering at TIFF, Comic-Con, did any of the training stay with him, how the role helped him as an actor, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Opening this weekend is director David Ayer’s (Harsh Times) police thriller End of Watch.  The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as two Los Angeles beat cops who find themselves marked for death after a routine traffic stop turns into an epic drug bust that interferes with a notorious cartel.  Unlike Ayer’s previous films which focused on corrupt police officers, Gyllenhaal and Peña play honest cops trying to make a difference.  In addition, most of the movie was filmed with handheld cameras, and Ayer’s POV shots put the audience right in the middle of the action.  Trust me, End of Watch is definitely worth your time and the chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Peña is a lot of fun. For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review, my video interviews with Ayer and Gyllenhaal, twenty things to know from my set visit, and all our previous coverage.  nd of Watch also stars Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, America Ferrera, Cody Horn and Frank Grillo.

Last week at the Toronto Film Festival I was able to speak with Kendrick and Martinez.  During our fun exchange we talked about premiering at TIFF, their reaction to the finished film, the unique camerawork, was it advantageous to have such a short shooting schedule, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Opening this weekend is director David Ayer’s (Harsh Times) police thriller End of Watch.  The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as two Los Angeles beat cops who find themselves marked for death after a routine traffic stop turns into an epic drug bust that interferes with a notorious cartel.  Unlike Ayer’s previous films which focused on corrupt police officers, Gyllenhaal and Peña play honest cops trying to make a difference.  In addition, most of the movie was filmed with handheld cameras, and Ayer’s POV shots put the audience right in the middle of the action.  Trust me, End of Watch is definitely worth your time and the chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Peña is a lot of fun. For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review, my video interview with David Ayer, twenty things to know from my set visit, and all our previous coverage.  End of Watch also stars Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, America Ferrera, Cody Horn and Frank Grillo.

Last week at the Toronto Film Festival I was able to speak with Jake Gyllenhaal.  During our fun exchange we talked about the unique camerawork in End of Watch, what he learned from making the movie, the training and short shooting schedule, why he missed Comic-Con, fashion week, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Opening this weekend is director David Ayer’s (Harsh Times) police thriller End of Watch.  The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as two Los Angeles beat cops who find themselves marked for death after a routine traffic stop turns into an epic drug bust that interferes with a notorious cartel.  Unlike Ayer’s previous films which focused on corrupt police officers, Gyllenhaal and Peña play honest cops trying to make a difference.  In addition, most of the movie was filmed with handheld cameras, and Ayer’s POV shots put the audience right in the middle of the action.  Trust me, End of Watch is definitely worth your time and the chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Peña is a lot of fun. For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review, twenty things to know from my set visit, and all our previous coverage.  End of Watch also stars Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, America Ferrera, Cody Horn and Frank Grillo.

Last week at the Toronto Film Festival I was able to speak with David Ayer.  We talked about premiering in Toronto, his motivation for making End of Watch, the unique camerawork, and more.  In addition, Ayer talks about his next movie, Breacher, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sam Worthington.  He reveals they start shooting October 15, it will definitely be rated-R, and he says he wants to “reinvent Arnold.  He’ll be a new guy.”  Hit the jump to watch.

Check out what we have in store for this latest round of new posters:

• The Complete Twilight Saga, featuring all five films back to back as part of the lead up before the epic conclusion on November 16th with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. 
• Argo, from director/star Ben Affleck and also starring Bryan Cranston and John Goodman. Argo opens October 12th.
• Two posters for David Ayer’s End of Watch, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña and Anna Kendrick.  End of Watch opens September 21st.
• Michael J. Gallagher’s horror thriller Smiley introduces a new serial killer urban legend on October 11th.
• Director John Putch’s Atlas Shrugged: Part 2 (of a possible three) stars Samantha Mathis, Ray Wise, Jason Beghe, Esai Morales, D.B. Sweeney, and Paul McCrane.  Atlas Shrugged: Part II opens on October 12th.

Hit the jump to check out the posters and synopses.

David Ayer‘s cop action flick End of Watch is consumed by found-footage gimmick it doesn’t need.  The device feels forced upon the story, and is applied in such a haphazard fashion that its presence only become more of a distraction.  Audiences don’t need a reason for certain camera angles; they need good characters, and End of Watch has them with great performances from lead actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña.  The movie is driven by character, and while the camera-tricks vie for our attention, it’s the relationship between two beat cops that holds our interest.

We here at Collider are happy to debut a new image from director David Ayer’s (Harsh Times) police thriller End of Watch.  The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as two Los Angeles beat cops who get in over their heads when they decide to independently take down a drug operation.  I caught some footage from the film at Comic-Con and thought it looked great.  Much of the movie was filmed with handheld cameras, and Ayer’s POV shots put the audience right in the middle of the action. Instead of another cliché-driven “corrupt cops” drama, End of Watch really focuses on the honest, dangerous work of everyday police officers.  Moreover, the chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Peña is a lot of fun (watch a great clip right here).

Hit the jump to check out the new image, in which Gyllenhaal gets fairly intense.  The film also stars Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera, Frank Grillo, and Natalie Martinez.  End of Watch opens on September 21st.

Writer/director David Ayer (Street Kings) is bringing his crime drama End of Watch into theaters on September 21st.  While we saw the violent side of Los Angeles law enforcement in the red-band trailer, this second trailer focuses on the partnership and importance of family for Officer Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Officer Zavala (Michael Peña). The duo finds themselves marked for death after a routine traffic stop turns into an epic drug bust that interferes with a notorious cartel.  End of Watch also stars Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera, Cody Horn and Frank Grillo.  Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.