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When Quentin Tarantino emerged on the scene with "Reservoir Dogs" in 1992, he proudly wore his influences on his sleeve. Tarantino is as much of a student of the screen as he is a creator of movies for it, marrying the cinematic language of the violence in exploitation and martial arts films with the character-driven writing of high-art, American auteurism. All of the trademarks of Tarantino's filmography were on display in his debut feature, like eclectic soundtracks, non-linear storytelling, and buckets of blood. Even before the film was released, Hollywood legends like Don Coscarelli were baffled by the brilliance on display from a first-time filmmaker.

Tarantino had made a crime thriller, but instead of it being about a group brought together to carry out the crime in the climax, it focused on the aftermath when six individuals operating under pseudonyms — Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr.

Sad news for movie fans, actor Michael Madsen has reportedly passed away at the age 67. Madsen is perhaps best known for his work with Quentin Tarantino in movies like Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill, but for a generation of people who grew up in the ‘90s, he will always be the heroic foster dad who helped to free Willy.

Still, it’s hard to argue that his most iconic performance wasn’t as Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. The famous torture scene, in which Mr. Blonde goes full van Gogh on a kidnapped police officer, is one of the most famous movie scenes of the ‘90s. It was subsequently parodied on shows like The Simpsons and Bob’s Burgers, presumably to the joy of any surviving members of Steeler’s Wheel.

Following the news of Madsen’s death, David Letterman’s official YouTube channel, which frequently (and somewhat confusingly) honors late celebrities with archival clips,...

The recent sequel to 1989’s Batman proves how great Clayface can be as the star of his announced upcoming DC movie. Clayface is a classic Batman foe from the Golden Age of DC’s comics. While the character is now known for his shapeshifting abilities, his initial portrayals were more grounded, with the actor Basil Karlo – who lacked superpowers – basing his Clayface persona on a role he played in a film. A later iteration of Clayface – Matt Hagan – would be the first iteration of Clayface to have the character’s iconic shapeshifting abilities, though he lacked Karlo’s acting background.

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, however, the modern iteration of Basil Karlo would acquire shapeshifting powers like Matt Hagan, making for a fascinating combination – as Karlo became a murderous former actor with the ability to convincingly mimic anybody, thanks to both his powers and background. Clayface has made...

Variety is reporting that a Clayface movie is officially moving forward at DC Studios, with Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep; The Fall of the House of Usher; Midnight Mass) attached to write the screenplay. 

Flanagan and Trevor Macy, his partner at Intrepid Pictures, pitched the potential film to James Gunn and Peter Safran over a year ago, and it looks like the idea won over the new DC bosses as they've issued a formal greenlight.

Plot details remain under wraps, but what we do know is that Clayface won't be a villain in the feature, which makes sense considering that back in 2021, Flanagan, when asked which DC movie he'd like to make, said, "Well I've wanted to do a Superman movie since I was a kid, but I would also be really keen to do a standalone Clayface movie as a horror/thriller/tragedy."

Filming is tentatively scheduled to begin early next year,...

It’s no secret that Quentin Tarantino gets inspiration from a variety of movies and pays homage to them in his own works, and Reservoir Dogs’ most shocking scene is inspired by one disturbing but acclaimed movie. Reservoir Dogs introduced the audience to Quentin Tarantino’s narrative and visual style, as well as to some of his most used tricks, but it also caused controversy due to one specific scene starring Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), which in turn showed viewers the type of violence they could expect from Tarantino’s works.

Reservoir Dogs follows a group of thieves assembled and led by crime boss Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son Eddie “Nice Guy” Cabot (Chris Penn), whose plan to steal thousands of dollars from a jewelry store goes wrong. The failure of the heist and the deaths of some of the group’s members by the police ended up...

Quentin Tarantino’s first feature may not be to all tastes, but it is an admirable feat of commercial filmmaking — what other director has broken into the front rank with such panache? The fifth time through, the splintered, elliptical structure still impresses, and there’s always something new to see in the performances of Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, and Steve Buscemi. The (rather bargain-priced) 4K disc set has everything — two formats, a digital code and those deleted scenes to ponder. And a Pulp Fiction 4K is due in just a week or so.

Reservoir Dogs 4K

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital

Lionsgate

1992 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. / 30th Anniversary Edition / Street Date November 15, 2022 / Available from Amazon / 22.99

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Randy Brooks, Kirk Baltz, Eddie Bunker, Quentin Tarantino.

Cinematography: Andrzej Sekula

Production Designer: David Wasco

Film Editor: Sally Menke

Dedicatees: Timothy Carey,...

Genre: Drama, Crime

Rating: R

On 4K Ultra HD: November 15, 2022

Running Time: 100 minutes

Cast: Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Chris Penn, Edward Bunker, Kirk Baltz, Quentin Tarantino, and Lawrence Tierney

Written by: Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Produced by: Lawrence Bender

Executive Producers: Richard H. Gladstein, Monte Hellman, Ronna B. Wallace

Co-Producer: Harvey Keitel

Director of Photography: Andrzej Sekula

Production Designer: David Wasco

Edited by: Sally Menke

Casting by: Ronnie Yeskel

Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann

Synopsis:

Frenzied, soaked in blood, and featuring gangsters both ruthless and engaging (who debate the deeper meanings of “Like a Virgin”), Reservoir Dogs — Quentin Tarantino’s debut film about a heist gone horribly wrong — attained iconic cult status upon its release in 1992, and launched the career of a director whose singular vision has influenced a generation of filmmakers. To celebrate the movie’s 30th anniversary, the cocked-and-loaded world of Mr.

Music and storytelling are perfect bedfellows. Storytelling appeals to our sense of adventure, while music appeals to our emotions.

Way before the movies, music, and storytelling had forged into a marriage of symbiosis – opera, ballet, theatre; they all used music to help drive the narrative. Throughout the history of narrative storytelling, music has been the protagonist, the antagonist and the elephant in the room. Through leitmotif; variations in pulse; and appropriate tonality, tempo, and texture; music manipulates the audience’s emotional response through the spectrum from fear to despair, and from desperation to triumph.

A great soundtrack should be there, and not there. If you notice the music, it’s usually for a good reason.

From humble beginnings

The advent of the moving image brought grand possibilities for a more intimate, visual method of storytelling, monopolizing upon the wider possibilities of location, the speed of the edit and the intimacy of the eyes.

Stars: Lisa-Bel Hirschmann, Arnold Goindhan, Kirk Baltz, Rebecca M Foster, Michael De Souza, Gary Moore, Ruby Parris, Jonathan Agostini, Conrad Parris, Alister Edwards, Chris Paul Smith, Alexis-Marie Chin, Nicholas Subero | Written by Teneille Newallo | Directed by Darisha J. Beresford

On the southernmost Caribbean island of Trinidad, Joanna (Lisa-Bel Hirschmann) is a young woman not sure of her place in the world. While avoiding college applications, she has her hands full with her emotionally supportive, yet dying father, Jake (Kirk Baltz). One evening she hits the beach with her friends and limp-wristed boyfriend Tyler (Michael De Souze). While partying at the beach cabin, in walks a masked man with a gun and a machete. Al (Arnold Goindham) is a local thief who owes a huge sum of cash to a crime boss. In over his head, Al kidnaps the one white girl around, Joanna, in the hopes he can ransom her to pay his debts.

yt id="lfk1b65lb-m" width="500" Paul Thomas Anderson's 1993 short film Cigarettes & Coffee was expanded into his 1996 feature debut Hard Eight, both starring Philip Baker Hall. Just above is a VHS rip, which explains the low quality. Five people's lives that are curiously intertwined happen to all be at a diner at the same time. An old man (Philip Baker Hall) gives advice to a young man (Kirk Baltz) about his cheating wife and best friend. A newlywed couple argues over the wife loosing money in Vegas playing craps. And a hit man buys some coffee and cigarettes and greets the man in his trunk. via Open Culture...

New NCIS Los Angeles season 5,episode 8 intense spoilers & clips hit the net. Last night,CBS released the new spoilers and sneak peek/spoiler clip (below) for their upcoming "NCIS: Los Angeles" episode 8 of season 5. The episode is entitled, "Fallout," and it appears to be very interesting and intense as more major action goes down, the NCIS team could get subjected to criminal charges, and more! In the new "Fallout" episode, Hetty's past is going to end up, coming back to haunt her when a nuclear detection device is stolen and an attack on Los Angeles is imminent. When an anti-terrorism device is stolen, the team will have to quickly find the suspect and the device before an attack is made against Los Angeles. In the meantime, Hetty will end up, realizing the case is bringing her back to someone from her past. Guest stars are going to feature: Reggie Austin...

New NCIS Los Angeles season 5,episode 8 official spoilers/plotline revealed by CBS. Recently,CBS served up the new,official,synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "NCIS: Los Angeles" episode 8 of season 5. The episode is entitled, "Fallout," and it sounds pretty intriguing as Hetty will face demons from her past ,and more. In the new,8th episode press release: Hetty's past is going to come back to haunt her when a nuclear detection device is stolen and an attack on Los Angeles is imminent. Press release number 2: When an anti-terrorism device is stolen, the team is going to have to quickly find the suspect and the device before an attack is made against Los Angeles. In the meantime, Hetty will realize the case is bringing her back to someone from her past. Guest stars will feature: Reggie Austin as a Retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Denis Martin, David de Lautour as Roy Kessler,...

Odd List Ryan Lambie 4 Oct 2013 - 06:41

They're funny, they're sad, they're weird. Here are 50 famous last words from characters in the movies...

Please Note: There are potential spoilers ahead. Check the name of the film, and if you haven't seen it, don't read the entry!

As someone famous probably once said, “We’ve all gotta go sometime,” and if we’re going to die, we might as well do so with a witticism or a memorable line rather than a scream and a cry for mother. Which is the subject of this lengthy but far from definitive list: the memorable things movie characters have uttered shortly (not necessarily immediately) before they’re about to meet their maker.

Some of these last words are long, tear-jerking monologues. Others amount to little more than a word or two. But all of them, in our estimation, are worthy of mention, and one...

Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming Django Unchained is set for release on Dec. 25th. It boasts an all-star cast of regular Tarantino players (Christoph Waltz, Samuel L Jackson) and new faces to the Tarantino universe (Jamie Foxx, Leonardo Dicaprio). Actors relish working with Tarantino, and he has on several occasions allowed an otherwise faltering star the opportunity to shine in a tailor made role. (John Travolta, Robert Forster, Pam Grier). Celebrating 20 years of film-making since his stunning debut with 1992′s Reservoir Dogs, we look back at the 10 performances we feel knocked our socks off from his filmography as a director. Here’s hoping Django Unchained is as good as it looks and we can add a few more names to this list.

Don’t forget to catch Django Unchained, opening December 25th.

10. Kirk Baltz – Reservoir Dogs

To be bound to a chair for the majority of a film is not an easy task,...

Imagine a very smooth, very self-satisfied rattlesnake.

That was what Terrence Howard brought to the role of Mr. Blonde, the casually homicidal madman of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs in a one-night-only live-reading of the script last night.

Now picture an older guy, who probably should be thinking about retirement, but realizes too late he has thrown in with the wrong thugs — and he left his medication at home. That was what Laurence Fishburne did with the part of Mr. White, originated by Harvey Keitel.

Up in the Air and Young Adult filmmaker Jason Reitman has been creating these events for the past five months,...

Imagine a very smooth, very self-satisfied rattlesnake.

That was what Terrence Howard brought to the role of Mr. Blonde, the casually homicidal madman of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs in a one-night-only live-reading of the script last night.

Now picture an older guy, who probably should be thinking about retirement, but realizes too late he has thrown in with the wrong thugs — and he left his medication at home. That was what Laurence Fishburne did with the part of Mr. White, originated by Harvey Keitel.

Up in the Air and Young Adult filmmaker Jason Reitman has been creating these events for the past five months,...

After holding stage readings of "Shampoo" (with Bradley Cooper, Kate Hudson and Olivia Wilde), "The Apartment" (with Steve Carell and Natalie Portman) and "Princess Bride" (with Paul Rudd and Mindy Kaling), director Jason Reitman may have stumbled upon his best idea yet: A recreation of "Reservoir Dogs" with an all-black cast. "If we were going to make it an all-black cast, we wanted to make sure we started with an all-white cast," Reitman told EW. "What makes the 'Reservoir Dogs' script work so well is, despite the fact that it was cast with all white actors, it really is a script that could feature any race." So, who has Reitman recruited to play the iconic roles? Terrence Howard will take over ear=slicing duties for Michael Madsen as the loose cannon Mr. Blonde; Howard's "Red Tails" co-star Cuba Gooding Jr. tackles Tim Roth's undercover police officer, Mr.

Ryan Lambie Jul 28, 2016

What do Bambi, The Dark Knight and Seven all have in common? Some powerful moments of off-screen violence...

Nb: The following contains spoilers for Seven (1995) and The Witch (2015)

The seminal moment in the history of cinema came at the turn of the 20th century, when the medium began to move away from the storytelling language of the theatre. Filmmakers like Edwin S Porter began to realise that the camera could do so much more than simply record what was in front of it; such techniques as close-ups and edits to different angles or locations could be used to create drama.

It’s these filmmaking techniques that the masters of cinema use to create suspense and feelings of dread. And while there’s nothing wrong with jabs of violence of gore in movies, it remains the case that anticipation or suggestion of a violent act is more effective than seeing the moment itself.

What do Bambi, The Dark Knight and Seven all have in common? Spectacular moments of off-screen violence, obviously. Here’s a list of a few other favourites…

Exploding heads are great, obviously. And there are some action and horror films that simply wouldn’t be the same without copious bloodletting, broken limbs and flying eyeballs. So while we’ve nothing against cinematic excess, it’s also the case that truly horrific violence can be implied rather than explicitly shown.

To this end, here’s a list of a few particularly noteworthy moments of implied nastiness in cinema. Needless to say, there are dozens upon dozens that we’ve failed to remember, so feel free to chip in with your own favourite moments of off-screen menace in the comments section.

M (1931)

“Just you wait, the nasty man in black will come,” is the first line uttered in Fritz Lang’s unforgettably disturbing 1931 thriller,...

Joshua Leonard’s name is one I confess I haven’t heard much of in the past. He was one of the leads in The Blair Witch Project way back when, but hasn’t done a huge amount since then.

Until now, that is. Making his directorial feature debut with The Lie, Joshua Leonard has helmed and starred in what looks to be a fantastic indie film, based on a short story by American writer, Tc Boyle.

The film’s great first poster has been released over at The Playlist, and Apple have given us its brilliant first trailer – two terrific firsts for what should be an excellent film, that just goes to show you don’t need an A-list cast and millions upon millions of dollars to make a great movie.

“When they first met, Lonnie and Clover were young idealists, but an unplanned baby forced them to flip the script.

One of the most interesting story lines going into the new television season is the question of who will replace Steve Carell as the centerpiece of "The Office." The show is entering its seventh season, which will be the final one for Carell and his paternal boss character Michael Scott. The producers have committed to soldiering forward with the show after Carell's departure, though it's unclear who they might be recruiting. According to producer Paul Lieberstein, the number one choice to fill in for Carell is a strange one: Harvey Keitel. "I haven't started any talks with his people, but Harvey would do a great job — a very different energy," Lieberstein (who also plays beleaguered Hr rep Toby Flenderson on the show) told E!. "And we don't want to bring in another Michael, having someone play a very similar character because we have such a high regard for Steve."

The...

It appears that Christopher Chance has been given a new assignment.

"The Human Target" has been renewed for a 13 episode second season on Fox, according to Entertainment Weekly. "Chuck" co-executive producer Matthew Miller is also joining "The Human Target" as the new showrunner, sharing the position with Jonathan Steinberg.

First announced in January 2009, "The Human Target" stars Mark Valley ("Fringe") as Christopher Chance, a former assassin turned bodyguard/private contractor who specializes in protecting clients from deadly and unusual threats. The series also stars Chi McBride ("Pushing Daisies") and Jackie Earle Haley ("Watchmen") as Chance's partners, Detective Laverne Winston and Guerrero, respectively.

"The Human Target" was created by comic book legends Len Wein and Carmine Infantino in 1972. As originally conceived, Christopher Chance would literally assume the identities of his clients in order to draw out and eliminate threats to them.

Back in 1999, "The Human Target" was revived as a Vertigo...

In this year's Humpday Joshua Leonard played the kind of character who reminds office drones of what they're missing, a 30-year-old vagabond living a life of travel and adventure and sex, rather than the monotonous but maybe more content life his old friend (played by Mark Duplass) has built for himself. But it seems Leonard will be slipping into the other role in The Lie, an indie he will direct based on T.C. Boyle's short story that ran in The New Yorker last year (you can read the full story online here). According to Variety Leonard adapted the story with Jess Weixler and Mark Webber, both of whom will star in the film as well. Jane Adams, Kelli Garner, P.J. Ransone, Gerry Bednob and Kirk Baltz will round out the cast as well. The original story is pretty slim on plot and characters, and presumably Leonard and company...

The last time Joshua Leonard stepped behind the camera, it caused quite a stir. That, of course, was on The Blair Witch Project when he played one of the three ill-fated student filmmakers who tangled with the eponymous menace.A decade on, and Leonard is ready to go behind the camera again, this time for real, on the indie drama, The Lie.The movie is based on a short story, written by T.C. Boyle, that appeared in The New Yorker, about a man who changes his life when he lies in order to get out of work. Sounds a little like The Invention of Lying – let’s hope that Leonard’s film hits the mark that Ricky Gervais’ appalling comedy missed so spectacularly.Leonard, who finally buried the Blair Witch curse this year by starring in the acclaimed indie comedy, Humpday (and the HBO show, Hung), will also star in the movie,...

Humpday's Joshua Leonard is stepping into the director's chair for the first time for the indie The Lie, in which he will also star.

According to Variety, the project is based on a T.C. Boyle short story that ran in the New Yorker last year, about a man who tells a lie to get out of work and inadvertently changes his life.

The script was adapted by Leonard, and his co-stars Jess Weixler (Teeth) and Mark Webber (Broken Flowers), with additional story by Jeff Feuerzeig.

The cast includes Jane Adams, with whom Leonard has co-starred in HBO series Hung, as well as Kelli Garner, P.J. Ransone, Gerry Bednob and Kirk Baltz.

The film begins production this month in Los Angeles.

A toymaker is set to cause outrage by producing Reservoir Dogs dolls - complete with detachable ear. Psychotic Mr. Blonde, played by Michael Madsen, and mutilated cop Marvin Nash, played by Kirk Baltz, are among the dolls to be made by American company Palisades. The dolls are being released to mark the cult movie's tenth anniversary. In the infamous scene, Mr. Blonde cuts Nash's ear off while grooving to 1970's tune Stuck In The Middle With You. Fans will not only get Nash with a removable ear, Blonde also comes equipped with a tiny razor.