Opening tomorrow, in limited release, is director Oren Moverman‘s (The Messenger) fantastic new movie, Rampart.  Led by a brillaint Woody Harrelson, Rampart is about a corrupt cop whose past is finally catching up with him in the wake of a department-wide corruption scandal.  The film also stars Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Steve Buscemi, Cynthia Nixon, Ben Foster, Anne Heche, Ice Cube, and Ned Beatty.

Recently, I got to speak with Harrelson. We talked about how he got involved in the project, what is was like to try and stick to the script while also finding the truth in the moment, what did he think of the film when he first saw it, filming on location in Los Angeles during the day, karaoke (he sings some Queen), and whether or not he can still dunk a basketball.  In addition, Harrelson talked about The Hunger Games and Martin McDonagh‘s Seven Psychopaths.  Hit the jump to watch.

With his new film Rampart (which ranked #4 on my Top 10 of 2011 list), writer-director Oren Moverman took the corrupt-cop genre and twisted it just like he did with The Messenger‘s soldier-PTSD story.  He’s one of the more exciting filmmakers working today because of his ability to play against expectations and come out with a more powerful, realistic story as a result.

I got the chance to interview Moverman about the film and we talked about where the real Rampart scandal came into the story, re-teaming with Woody Harrelson, shooting the movie as if it were two different films, and more.  Moverman also spoke about his collaboration with Ben Stiller for a David O. Selznic biopic for HBO, and we discussed his script for Steve Buscemi‘s upcoming film, Queer.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  Rampart opens in select cities this Friday.  Click here to read my full review.

Between festivals and theatrical releases, I saw over 100 new films this year.  Some were awful, some were good, and some were mediocre.  And then there were the movies that stayed with me, and more importantly, held up on repeat viewings.  In past years, I’ve usually only had one chance to watch a movie and sometimes the initial positive impression was enough to land it on my annual Top 10 list.  Then I looked back on the list six months later and realized some films shouldn’t have made the cut.  This year, I got to attend major festivals and received “For Your Consideration screeners, which made it easier to double-check movies I enjoyed.  If you’re wondering why movies that originally received an a high rating didn’t make the list, it’s because while I still liked them on a second viewing, their faults became more apparent.  The movies on my Top Ten list became better on repeat viewings and I look forward to watching them again and again over the years.

Hit the jump to check out my picks for the Top 10 films of 2011.

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

The nominations for the 27th Annual Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning with The Artist and Take Shelter each nabbing five nominations. In addition to The Artist and Take Shelter, Drive, 50/50, The Descendants, and Beginners will duke it out for the top prize. Absent from the Best Feature list is Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, though the film was recognized in Best Supporting Male (Corey Stoll) and Best Cinematography. Also of note, Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes landed nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Male for Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Ryan Gosling and Woody Harrelson were both singled out in Best Actor for Drive and Rampart respectively.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominations. Recognizing the best in independent film, the awards will be handed out on February 25th, the day before the Oscars.

Yesterday we unveiled our picks for the top contenders in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories for the upcoming 84th Academy Awards. Today, we’re taking on Best Actor and Best Actress. Though it’s still relatively early in the race, we’ve got some surefire contenders and a couple of clear frontrunners for the top acting categories. In addition to Academy darlings like George Clooney and Meryl Streep, we’ve seen some extraordinary performances from relative newcomers likes Elizabeth Olsen and Michael Fassbender. As I stressed yesterday, it’s still pretty early so things can definitely change between now and February, but there are certainly some clear frontrunners in these two races already. Hit the jump to see find out how everyone stacks up.

New posters have been released for Rampart, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Darkest Hour, and Shame.  I haven’t seen Dragon Tattoo yet so I’m not sure if Daniel Craig sprouts a Rooney Mara.  I also haven’t seen Darkest Hour so I’m not sure if the characters are more freaked out by what’s in front of them instead of the gigantic explosion behind them.  But I have seen Rampart and I think Millennium Films can do better than “Giant Woody Harrelson Face”.  I also think the tagline should try to say more than just “Corrupt Cop Movie; Go See.”  As for Shame, the French poster tries to sell the movie as sexy, and it’s absolutely not.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Rampart has a one-week award-qualifying run on November 23rd before opening in limited release on January 27, 2012.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opens December 21st.  The Darkest Hour opens in 3D on December 23rd.  Shame opens in limited release on December 2nd.

When I saw Oren Moverman‘s Rampart at the Toronto Film Festival, I liked it alright, but I found I couldn’t shake it.  The more I thought about it, the more I saw how well it worked, how it subverts the corrupt-cop sub-genre, and how Woody Harrelson‘s outstanding performance ties it all together.  Millennium Films is rushing to get an awards strategy into place, and The New York Times reports that the movie will open for an awards-qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles on November 23rd.  While I think the movie deserves attention for Best Actor (Harrelson), Best Director, and Best Screenplay, realistically its best chance for an Oscar nomination is Harrelson.  Millennium will then try to use the resulting awards buzz to boost the film’s audience when the movie begins a platform release on January 27, 2012.

Hit the jump for more on the film.  The movie also stars Ben Foster, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Sammy Boyarsky, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Ned Beatty, and Robin Wright.  Click here for my full review.

The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival is over, but there’s still life in the sales market.  According to Variety, Millennium Entertainment has acquired the U.S. rights to Rampart in a $2 million dollar deal (plus performance bonuses).  The cop drama represents a reunion between writer/director Oren Moverman, Woody Harrelson, and Ben Foster after Moverman’s directorial debut The Messenger earned a Best Original Screenplay nomination and an acting nod for Harrelson in 2009.  Harrelson stars as “a never- changing LAPD cop (Woody Harrelson) whose past is finally catching up with him in the wake of a department-wide corruption scandal.” Foster is joined in the supporting cast by Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Sammy Boyarsky, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Ned Beatty, and Robin Wright.

I’m guessing Millennium wants Rampart in theaters before the end of the year to knock on Oscar’s door with a campaign focusing on Harrelson’s performance.  Works for me—I’m looking forward to seeing the film.  Read the official synopsis after the jump.

In his debut feature The Messenger, director Oren Moverman eschewed the simplistic and pandering Soldiers-with-PTSD story seen in films like Stop-Loss and In the Valley of Elah.  Moverman took a deeper look to see how two soldiers struggled to heal their personal wounds by examining how the men struggled to help others deal with the loss of loved ones.  It was a smart and unusual way to tell a story and he has continued that approach with Rampart.  Coupled with another astounding performance from Woody Harrleson, Moverman  turns the genre on its head by showing that one dirty cop’s warped sense of justice may be necessary to not only to the world, but to his own existence.

The Messenger was one of the nice surprises of 2009, a nuanced look at the life of the American soldier.  The gang—Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, and writer/director Oren Moverman—is getting back together for Rampart, which gives us hope for a nuanced look at the life of the American police officer.  Harrelson stars as “a never- changing LAPD cop (Woody Harrelson) whose past is finally catching up with him in the wake of a department-wide corruption scandal.” Foster is joined in the supporting cast by Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Sammy Boyarsky, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Ned Beatty, and Robin Wright.

Rampart is about halfway through its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival as I write this, but we have the first clips from the movie after the jump.

With the announcement of films playing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, plenty of new images have been release.  After the jump you’ll find new images from 50/50 (starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen), A Dangerous Method (starring Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen), Anonymous (starring Rhys Ifans and Vangessa Redgrave), The Ides of March (starring Ryan Gosling), and Rampart (starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster).  All of the films will be playing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and we’re going to have plenty of new images to show you throughout the morning.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  We’ve also provided the synopses.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8th – 18th.  Expect coverage everyday from the Festival.  50/50 opens September 30th, Anonymous opens October 28th, The Ides of March opens October 7th.  A Dangerous Method and Rampart currently do not have US release dates.

In my article yesterday about the Venice Film Festival, I made some predictions on which films would make their world premiere at this year’s Toronto Film Festival and not Venice.  It turns out a few of my guesses were only the tip of the iceberg.  Moneyball, 50/50, and The Descendants are all going to premiere at TIFF.  But my lord, does Toronto have an incredible line-up this year.  I’m praying my application gets approved because when you hit the jump and check out this line-up, you’ll understand my agony if I’m stuck in Atlanta while these films are premiering.

Hit the jump for the line-up of Galas and Premieres for this year’s festival.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8th – 18th.

New images have gone online for Rampart, the new drama from The Messenger director Oren Moverman.  The film stars Woody Harrelson as a corrupt cop and the story is set against the backdrop of the scandal involving the LAPD’s Rampart Division.  Moverman wrote the script with acclaimed crime novelist James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential) The impressive cast also includes Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Steve Buscemi, Cynthia Nixon, Ben Foster, Anne Heche, Ice Cube, and Ned Beatty.

Hit the jump to check out the images along with the first official synopsis for the film.

If you’re a fan of Jason Statham action films, you’ll be happy to know his latest movie, a remake of The Mechanic, opens this weekend.  Like the 1972 Charles Bronson film that it’s based on, Statham plays a ‘mechanic’, which is “an elite assassin with a strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets.”   Unlike some remakes that stray far from the original, Statham’s remake uses the same plot, but updates all the technology and kills.  Also, Simon West directed (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) the film so the action is well done.  I actually thought the remake was a lot of fun and casting Ben Foster to play the apprentice was a smart move as he’s an awesome actor that brings a lot to the role.  For more on the film, watch 4 clips here.

Anyway, I recently got to participate in a roundtable interview with Foster and you can either read a transcript or listen to the audio after the jump.  During the interview, Foster talked about working alongside Statham and what it was like to make The Mechanic, the nasty injury he landed as a result of doing his own stunts, how he prepares for each role, why he tends to play tough guys, and he gave us updates on Contraband, Fernando Meirelles’ 360, and Oren Moverman’s Rampart.  If you’re a fan of this great actor, you definitely should check out the interview: