News

Fff Bayern awards funding to action thriller follow-up which now has French director Jean-François Richet on board

Cliffhanger 2, the sequel to the 1993 Sylvester Stallone action film, has been awarded €2m in funding from German production fund Fff Bayern ahead of a planned summer 2024 shoot in Europe with director Jean-François Richet now on board.

The screenplay by Mark Bianculli sees Stallone reprising his role as the ranger Gabriel “Gabe” Walker who is now living in the Dolomites where he runs an exclusive mountain lodge.

When Gabe and a high-profile client are taken hostage during an adventurous weekend trip, his daughter...

I’ve long been a fan of the brilliant work of Vincent Cassel. The legendary actor has proven fantastic in films like Black Swan, Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, Irreversible, Eastern Promises, and so much more. And now, he takes on the role of the Stephen Hopkins-directed six-episode thriller Liaison. The upcoming series premieres on Apple TV this Friday and also features the terrific Eva Green, Daniel Francis, Lyna Dubarry, and more. And yes, the performances here are all terrific, and you can’t ask for a better couple than Green and Cassel to bring it all to life.

Interviewing Vincent Cassel is an absolute treat. While you may expect the actor to be intense, he is one of the warmest and most charming guys to talk with. Having had the pleasure of speaking to him in the past, I was thrilled to talk about his latest project.

With offerings like Death Line and Stage Fright in their August lineup, Arrow's service continues to be a go-to destination for lovers of cult cinema:

"London, UK - Arrow Video is excited to announce the August 2021 lineup of their new subscription-based Arrow platform, available to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland.

The August lineup leads with the Arrow release of Noel David Taylor's bizarre filmmaking comedy Man Under Table, available exclusively to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and newly launched in Ireland. The feature debut from writer/director Noel David Taylor, who also stars as Guy, a beleaguered, hilariously obnoxious scriptwriter navigating his way through the chaotic indie film scene in a dystopian Los Angeles, Man Under Table world premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and screened at the Chattanooga Film Festival. The film will debut on Arrow August 2nd.

Man Under Table...

James Gunn is always up for sharing his opinions (for better or for worse) as well as interacting with fans on Twitter. Just the other day, in fact, he shared a list of 27 sequels better than the original and before that, he recommended 10 movies to watch during quarantine. But now, The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy director has revealed a new list of films to watch during self-isolation and has come up with 54 action movies that he believes are an A+.

Studios have been releasing some of their new efforts on digital early like Bloodshot and The Hunt in an attempt to capitalize on any extra revenue they can in these difficult times. But forget about new movies for a second. Gunn’s list below begins a proper action film education and all of his suggestions are well worth checking out.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Bullitt (1868)

North by Northwest...

Vincent Cassel is the newest recruit for “Westworld” Season 3.

“We’re incredibly excited to work with Vincent Cassel. We’ve been longtime fans of his and are thrilled for him to join the ‘Westworld’ team,” HBO sci-fi series creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy said in a statement.

Cassel is the latest newcomer for “Westworld’s” third season, following the castings of Lena Waithe and Aaron Paul. No character details have been given for the actor’s role on the upcoming installment, which just went into production last month and will not air until some time in 2020.

Also Read: Lena Waithe Joins Cast of 'Westworld' Season 3

The series’ second season starred Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, and Tessa Thompson and wrapped in June 2018.

Based on the film of the same name written by Michael Crichton, “Westworld” was created by husband and wife producing team Nolan and Joy.

Vincent Cassel has signed on for “Westworld” Season 3 at HBO.

Like most things “Westworld,” the exact nature of Cassel’s role is being kept under wraps. He joins previously announced “Westworld” Season 3 cast members Lena Waithe Aaron Paul. Production recently began on Season 3 and the show is not expected to air again until at least 2020.

Cassel is known for his starring role in “Mesrine Part 1: Killer Instinct” and “Mesrine Part 2: Public Enemy #1.” His previous credits also include “Black Swan,” “Ocean’s 12,” and “Eastern Promises.” He will next be seen in “Underwater” directed by William Eubanks.

He is repped by CAA and Agence Adéquat.

The series, based on the Michael Crichton film of the same name, was created for television and executive produced by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. J.J. Abrams and Ben Stephenson of Bad Robot Productions also executive produce along with Richard J. Lewis and Athena Wickham.

HBO’s sprawling sci-fi drama series Westworld is getting a another major new cast addition. French actor Vincent Cassel is joining the upcoming third season of the series.

The producers are being tight-lipped on the character but I hear Cassel will play a new villain and will be a series regular. He will co-star another high-profile new series regular for Season 3, Breaking Bad alum Aaron Paul.

Created for television by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, based on Michael Crichton’s 1973 movie, the sci-fi thriller is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the birth of a new form of life on Earth.

“We’re incredibly excited to work with Vincent Cassel,” Nolan and Joy said. “We’ve been longtime fans of his and are thrilled for him to join the Westworld team.”

Westworld, from Warner Bros. TV, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Nolan and Joy’s Kilter Films,...

Drafthouse Films has released the first domestic trailer for The Connection (La French), a film said to be the American cousin to William Friedkin's classic The French Connection starring Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Gilles Lellouche (Point Blank, Mesrine: Killer Instinct). Set for a limited release on May 15, the film was directed and co-written by Cedric Jimenez (Aux yeux de tous) and entirely shot on 35mm. Here's the plot: A stylish, 70's-period crime thriller inspired by true events, it tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection. In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean "Tany" Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing--including boldly orchestrated drug raids,...

The Informant – a gripping crime thriller by Julien Leclercq’s that is inspired by real events – will be available on DVD and Blu-ray from 25 August 2014 and to celebrate, we have 3 Blu-rays to give away!

In order to free his family from financial worries, Marc Duval (Gilles Lellouche – Mesrine: Killer Instinct, Little White Lies, Tell No One), a Frenchman expatriated to Gibraltar, becomes a spy for French customs. From petty trafficking to shady cargo, he progressively wins the trust of Claudio Lanfredi (Riccardo Scamarcio – Loose Cannons), a powerful cocaine importer tied to the dangerous Columbian cartels.

This in-depth immersion in the world of drug trafficking forces Marc to take increasing risks. But, as he rises in the cartel hierarchy, he also discovers easy money, temptation and a luxury lifestyle.

Permanently living on a knife edge, only his lies keep him alive. When the English customs join the game to arrest Lanfredi,...

Exclusive: Wild Bunch to launch new films from Verhoeven, Noé, Kechiche as well as Spring Breakers 2, Maniac Cop remake and market premiere Welcome to New York.

Paris-based sales and production powerhouse Wild Bunch has unveiled a packed Cannes slate, featuring future films from Paul Verhoeven, Gaspar Noé and Abdellatif Kechiche as well as Spring Breakers 2 and the remake of Maniac Cop.

The untitled Paul Verhoeven project is an adaptation of French writer Philippe Djian’s 2012 novel Oh!, revolving around a psychological game of cat-and-mouse between a businesswoman and a stalker who raped her, a crime for which she is seeking revenge.

“Casting is being finalised. It’s a very intelligent script but it’s also pure Verhoeven, extremely erotic and perverted, so the actress has to be prepared to take that on,” said Wild Bunch co-chief Vincent Maraval.

Wild Bunch will also launch Spring Breakers: The Second Coming, in which the Spring Breakers do battle with an...

Celebrated French film star Vincent Cassel is the latest actor to join Daniel Espinosa.s Safe House follow-up, Child 44. Between his smoldering turn as a sneering dance instructor in Black Swan and his Cesar-winning performance in the epic gangster biopic Mesrine: Killer Instinct/Public Enemy #1, Cassel.s inclusion in any thriller.s cast is good news, but what.s surprising here is that he.s been brought in to replace Academy Award-winning thespian Philip Seymour Hoffman - and with production in full swing no less! Deadline reports Cassel has joined the cast that already boasts Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman, Jason Clarke, Paddy Considine, and Fares Fares. Just as was the case when Hoffman was brought on board, no information has been released about this role Cassel.s taken over. Perhaps more frustrating, Deadline doesn.t give any hint to why the swap occurred so late...

Longtime couple Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel are divorcing, their reps confirmed Monday.

The pair, who met on the set of French film "The Apartment" in 1996, have been married for 14 years and have two daughters. Bellucci, best known stateside as Persephone in the "Matrix" sequels, had previously spoken out about the state of her marriage, saying she'd prefer to have respect and loyalty in her union than simply sexual faithfulness.

"In [a deeper partnership], passion stays, but more important is confidence, respect, knowing a man is not just loyal in a sex way, but that they will be there for you. That is more important than just fidelity," the 48-year-old Italian actress and model told The London Times in 2011. "It would be ridiculous to ask [fidelity] of him if I hadn't been there for two months. You can't ask such things as who has he been seeing, what has he been up to? It...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Feb. 5, 2013

Price: DVD $24.98, Blu-ray $29.98

Studio: Mpi

Marion Cotillard in Little White Lies.

Oscar winners Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Marion Cotillard (Contagion) star in the 2011 French import, Little White Lies, a comedy-drama film written and directed by Guillaume Canet (Tell No One).

Following a motorcycle accident that leaves a charismatic member (Dujardin) of their group in an intensive care unit, a close-knit circle of friends embark on their annual summer getaway to Cap Ferrat in southeastern France. The friends’ sunny beachside idyll quickly becomes the backdrop of heated tensions and outbursts among the old acquaintances as the little white lies just beneath the surface of their relationships reach a boiling point. Among the group is Marie (Cotillard), a bi-curious music scholar; the wealthy Max (Cluzet), who tries to buy the others’ affection; and Eric (Gilles Lellouche, Mesrine: Killer Instinct), an actor whose pompousness hides boyish insecurities.

Michel Hazanavicius, Thomas Langmann, Bérénice Bejo Accepting the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for The Artist is Thomas Langmann at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Standing behind Langmann are The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius and one of the film's stars, Hazanavicius' wife Bérénice Bejo. The Artist's competitors in the Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical category were Jonathan Levine's 50/50, with Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Paul Feig's Bridesmaids, with Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Melissa McCarthy; Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, with Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and Marion Cotillard; and Simon Curtis' My Week with Marilyn, with Michelle Williams (as Marilyn Monroe), Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh (as Laurence Olivier), and Julia Ormond (as Vivien Leigh). Upon accepting the award Langmann remembered his father, filmmaker Claude Berri, who died in...

Award-winning star of The Artist will play opposite Vincent Cassel in new version of Claude Berri's 1977 romantic comedy

Newly garlanded Golden Globe winner Jean Dujardin will star opposite another member of French film royalty, Vincent Cassel, in a remake of Claude Berri's 1977 romantic comedy One Wild Moment (Un Moment d'Égarement), according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Dujardin carried off the prize for best actor in a comedy or musical at Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony for his turn in Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist. Thomas Langmann, the producer of that Oscar-tipped paean to Hollywood's golden era, revealed the casting news at the Bafta team event on Saturday.

Langmann said Dujardin and Cassel would play best friends who fall out after one of them begins attracting romantic attention from the other's daughter. One Wild Moment was previously remade by Hollywood in 1984 as Blame it on Rio, with Michael Caine as the...

The Kid with a Bike / Le Gamin au Vélo

Directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Written by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

France/Belgium/Italy, 2011

The style of brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne might not sound immediately appealing to someone who has never seen one of their films. The Belgians usually avoid working with big stars, glamorous locations or lush orchestrations. Their themes include poverty, unemployment and the everyday struggles of people on the margins. But Cannes Juries love them — Rosetta and The Child are both past winners of the coveted Palme d’Or. This year’s Grand Prix winner, The Kid with a Bike, is another brilliant example of no-frills film-making that grabs you from the shot and makes you care.

That title is reminiscent of Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948), but here 11-year-old Cyril (Thomas Doret) has lost both his dad and his beloved vélo. (There’s no mum,...

More casting for Danny Boyle's new art heist, not art house, thriller Trance, that recently nabbed James McAvoy for one of the leads. Deadline reports that actress Rosario Dawson (Unstoppable, Zookeeper) and French actor Vincent Cassel (Mesrine: Killer Instinct, Black Swan) are negotiating for roles in the film, with Cassel playing one of McAvoy's accomplices. Dawson will play a woman who develops "an unusual relationship with both men," whatever that means. The project is said to be as "edgy as Shallow Grave and Trainspotting," two of Boyle's earlier films, and involves a gang of thieves and a painting heist gone wrong. As was revealed originally, the film is an "art heist gone wrong" thriller, and McAvoy is going to paly Simon, a shady leader of a gang who partners with an assistant at an auction house to pull the heist. The assistant is the mastermind behind it and teams...

 

In this week's episode, Ben and Tyler are joined by writer and comedian DC Pierson (Mystery Team, Derrick Comedy) to discuss Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film, Pulp Fiction. Check out all of our previous episodes at NotJustNewMovies.com.

Introduction

Character Name Game Intro - 5:00

Media Consumed

Tyler

True Grit (2010) - 5:20

DC

"Game of Thrones" - 14:25

Mesrine: Killer Instinct - 21:15

Ben

Superman Returns - 22:45

Review

Pulp Fiction - 32:00

Wrap-Up

Next Time: The Big Lebowski - 1:25:05

Listener E-mail/Voicemail - 1:26:15

Character Name Game - 1:29:00

Where You Can Find Us - 1:31:45...

Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya in The Skin I Live In

Photo: Sony Pictures Classics Don't let anyone tell you too much about Pedro Almodovar's The Skin I Live In, to know too much is to ruin the experience. However, please allow me to properly prepare you. It's still Almodovar. It's still primarily an art house feature. But if art house ever delved into the world of darkly comic camp this would be that film. Yet, this mixture of content doesn't necessarily play perfectly upon first viewing, at least not without proper expectations. Perhaps a second screening is necessary to properly set the mood as watching it the first time without proper expectations makes for a bit of an up-and-down ride.

Based on Thierry Jonquet's novel "Mygale", The Skin I Live In revolves around Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas), a plastic surgeon who's gone "mad scientist" since losing his wife and daughter.

Chicago – Just as Steven Soderbergh’s “Che” and Olivier Assayas’ “Carlos” recounted the true tale of a controversial revolutionary over the span of at least two theatrically released pictures, Jean-François Richet’s 2008 double feature “Mesrine” stages the jaw-dropping amount of robberies and prison escapes committed by its titular French gangster. His resumé is impressive, but his life makes for rather redundant drama.

Though Jacques Mesrine was a member of the French Army during the Algerian War and even dabbled in the Quebec Liberation Front, he appears to have been a much more shallow figure than some have claimed, if this film is of any indication. One of his kidnapped victims makes the valid point that if Mesrine truly were a revolutionary, he would’ve taken the lives of his enemies rather than their money.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

Even Mesrine’s partners become increasingly skeptical, particularly Charlie Bauer, who argues that the...

"The Resident" (2011)

Directed by Antti Jokinen

Released by Image Entertainment

This actually isn't the first time Hilary Swank has seen one of her films go direct to DVD after the films "Red Dust" and "Birds of America" suffered the same fate, but surely there was more riding on this horror film from the resurgent Hammer Films about a recently separated doctor who learns her Brooklyn loft isn't quite as wonderful as she thought it would be. "Secretary" screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson co-wrote this film, which co-stars Christopher Lee, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Lee Pace.

"The Mikado" (1939)

Directed by Victor Schertzinger

Released by Criterion Collection

"Topsy-Turvy" (1999)

Directed by Mike Leigh

Released by Criterion Collection

Sold separately, Criterion is making no secret of trying to appeal to Gilbert and Sullivan fanatics with special editions of "The Mikado," a straight-up adaptation of the musical duo's most famous opera, and Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy,...

The Freebie Rivaling the similarities between No Strings Attached and the upcoming Friends With Benefits, it might come as no surprise that the premise for this week's Hall Pass has been used before -- as recently as in the little-seen 2010 Sundance alum The Freebie. But please, don't mistake The Freebie for a comedy. The film treats this exchange like it's a big deal. Because it is.

The film follows a couple that has hit such a rut in their relationship that their bedroom activities are limited to crossword puzzle races. So, naturally, they grant each other a night off from their marriage in hopes that it reignites the romantic fire they once had.

As a mumblecore film, its desired effect is that of real-life unfolding right before your eyes. And it works -- in large part to the way director/star Katie Aselton keeps the outcome of this night a mystery to us,...

This Week in DVD & Blu-ray is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD and Blu-ray releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy and Fry’s. Due Date (Blu-ray available as 'Blu-ray only' and 'Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy') I wasn't nearly as impressed by The Hangover as the rest of the world seemed to be, nor was I as dismayed by Due Date. In my estimation, the primary reason Todd Phillips' latest comedy fell short of his previous effort is novelty—as much in premise as character dynamic and comedic set pieces. Given enough time, I think both films will appear similarly tired. Until then though, Due Date remains a moderately enjoyable Planes, Trains and Automobiles retread, afforded more vibrancy than it's worth due to its affable leads. Robert Downey Jr. plays the easily irritated straight man, and Zach Galifianakis plays the eccentric,...

In this episode, Dave, Devindra, and Adam wonder about the future of creative storytelling, try to parse David O. Russell's thoughts on Uncharted, debate the merits of The Fifth Element, and explain why I Am Number Four is a huge steaming pile of number two. You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(At)gmail(Dot)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us for our next live broadcast on Sunday, February 27 at Slashfilm's live page [1] where we'll be discussing this year's Oscar ceremony. Download [2] or Play Now in your Browser: [audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/slashfilmcast/Slashfilmcastep135.mp3] Subscribe to the /Filmcast: [3] [4] Shownotes Introduction What We've Been Watching Devindra (01:25): Mesrine: Killer Instinct, David Chen (05:07): I Am Number Four, Hall Pass Adam (24:40): The Office / Community, The Fifth Element News Discussion (39:25) The Day The Movies Died [5] (48:43) Criterion Adds 150 Titles to Hulu [6] (54:45) David O. Russell Responds to...

This week's new DVD and Blu-rays include a solid mix of Hollywood and foreign films, from relatively successful November theatrical releases like Due Date and Megamind to Andrea Arnold's gritty British drama Fish Tank, Timur Bekmambetov's Russian superhero movie Black Lightning, and French serial killer flick Mesrine: Killer Instinct starring Vincent Cassel. We've also got the Oscar shortlisted documentary Last Train Home, the critically acclaimed Get Low starring Bill Murray and Robert Duvall, and the animated version of Grant Morrison's All Star Superman, plus James Nguyen's soon-to-be cult classic Birdemic: Shock and Terror and a new 10th Anniversary Edition of Christopher Nolan's Memento on Blu-ray. Anything catch your eye? What will you be buying or renting this week? Check out a more detailed list of releases after the jump. Amazon.com Widgets

For More Daily Movie Goodness, Visit Filmjunk.Com!

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

Drive Angry – Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner

Hall Pass – Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate

Shelter – Julianne Moore, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jeffrey DeMunn (limited)

Movie of the Week

Hall Pass

The Stars: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate

The Plot: A married man (Wilson) is granted the opportunity to have an affair by his wife.

The Buzz: I’m happy to see, after a four-year hiatus, the Farrelly Brothers are back (Dumb & Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, Shallow Hal) — it’s also nice to see Owen Wilson back to his regular Hollywood hard-working self. I didn’t think the red-band trailer for Hall Pass was as funny as the green-band, but I am still holding out hope that the Farrelly’s and Mr. Wilson are as good a match-up in reality as they are on paper. The supporting cast looks solid, with Jason Sudeikis,...

DVD Links: DVD News | Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed

It's a rather impressive week for DVD and Blu-ray releases with something pretty much for everyone. Let's dig in...

Sweet Smell of Success (Criterion Collection) I am working on a review of this one right now and let me say it's at the top of the pile for a reason. It's excellent, from the transfer to the features, not to mention it's a very good film. And boy is it dark. This is a nasty flick with nasty characters doing nasty things to one another. I'll talk more about it shortly, but if you are looking for a solid choice this week I'd recommend starting here. Memento (10th Anniversary Special Edition) I have not yet had a chance to watch this one, but I sort of feel as if I just did having watched it back in July of...

Filed under: DVDs

It's a man's world on DVD this week. At the top of the list is 'Megamind,' an animated adventure about a really mean villain who gets his way and then doesn't know how to deal with it. 'Due Date' follows the misadventures of a pair of traveling companions who rub each other the wrong way on a transcontinental trip from Atlanta to L.A. And lastly there's 'Mesrine: Killer Instinct,' the first of two films on France's most notorious and charismatic gangster of the 20th century. Read on.

Continue Reading...

We're coming up on another Tuesday, so you know what that means. Yep, a whole new batch of movies are hitting the shelves. In this weekly feature, we bring you a list of all the latest movies coming to DVD and Blu-ray for the week. This week's releases include the Todd Phillips comedy Due Date, Get Low and Mesrine: Killer Instinct. We also get a Blu-ray release of the movie that made Christopher Nolan a name (and personally my favorite Nolan film to date): Memento. Also releasing later this week (Friday) will be the animated movie Megamind.

Your Weekly Source for Blu-Ray and DVD Release News

There’s a lot to choose from this week. Criterion Collection adds three, two old and one new… Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis star in Sweet Smell Of Success about a powerful columnist who tries to keep his sister from marrying a jazz musician; Senso is an Italian classic about a countess and a lieutenant who pursue a self-destructive relationship; Fish Tank tells an edgy, inspirational story of a disadvantaged British girl who longs to be a hip hop dancer. Relish in 80′s buddy cop cinema with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte in 48 Hours. Admire the melding of nature and art in Rivers & Tides, a documentary about Andy Goldsworthy. Have a frighteningly silly time with the “animals attack” schlockfest fan-fave Birdemic. Robert Duvall shines as an eccentric recluse planning his own funeral party in Get Low, Vincent Cassell gets dangerous as...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Black Lightning" (2009)

Directed by Dmitriy Kiselev and Aleksandr Voytinskiy

Released by Universal Studios

"Wanted" director Timur Bekmambetov produced this Russian action flick about a man and his flying car, using the same effects team that worked on all of his previous films including "Night Watch." A Russian trailer is here since where we're going, we don't need to understand words.

"7th Hunt" (2010)

Directed by Jon Cohen

Released by Vanguard Cinema

A motley group of young adults are abducted and forced to fend for their survival at an abandoned military training center in the middle of nowhere in Jon Cohen's thriller.

"Alien Vs. Ninja" (2010)

Directed by Seiji Chiba

Released by Funimation

A selection of last year's New York Asian Film Festival, Seiji Chiba's crazy genre mashup may just be "the best and wittiest movie ever to air at 2am on the SyFy Channel" in the future,...

Do you like gangster flicks? How about French gangster movies? How about French crime films featuring their lead actor in the nude? (Put your hand down Abaius.) Well if you answered “yes!” to any of those three questions then you’re in luck. Jean-Francois Richet’s Mesrine is a two-part gangster saga (Killer Instinct and Public Enemy #1) based on the true life story of Jacques Mesrine, and it’s a brutal and beautifully shot pair of films. Vincent Cassel brings Mesrine to life with wit, cruelty, and his usual fearlessness. The films had a successful run in limited release, but don’t worry if you missed them in theaters… Mesrine: Killer Instinct hits DVD/Blu-ray on February 22nd, and we’ve got three copies on Blu/DVD to give away. How can you win? Simple… tell us in the comments section below what your favorite French film is and why. The...

The first film in the two-part Mesrine series is getting a release on Blu-ray and we have three copies to give away. Jean-François Richet’s Mesrine: Killer Instinct stars Vincent Cassel, Cécile De France, and Gérard Depardieu.

For a chance to win one of the three Blu-rays make sure you are following The Film Stage on Facebook and/or Twitter and fill out the form below by 11:59 Pm Est on Monday, February 21st, 2011. We will select the winners at random and you will be notified by e-mail. One entry per household. No purchase necessary. Winners must live inside the U.S. Shipping to a P.O. box is not permitted. Check out more info regarding the film below, after the submission form. Good luck!

[contact-form]

Music Box Films Home Entertainment Announces

Mesrine: Killer Instinct

International Superstar Vincent Cassel Stars As Jacques Mesrine In The First Chapter Of The Acclaimed, Real-life...

By Bryan Buss

(February 2011)

February home-video releases offer a second chance to catch indies that didn’t find an audience in theaters and long-shot awards hopefuls:

February 1

“Conviction” (20th Century Fox, R) — Hilary Swank portrays Betty Anne Waters, a woman who put herself through law school to defend her brother’s innocence in this biopic that never gained enough critical traction to help it break out of a very strong indie season last fall. While the acting was heralded (in addition to two-time Oscar winner Swank, who snagged a SAG nom for best lead actress, there’s Sam Rockwell as the imprisoned brother, Peter Gallagher and Oscar nominees Melissa Leo, Juliette Lewis and Minnie Driver offering support), the script was too conventional to raise the film beyond TV-movie level. Despite its intentions, the Tony Goldwyn-helmed drama grossed less than $7 million. (For more coverage of “Conviction,” watch our video interview...

By Bryan Buss

(February 2011)

February home-video releases offer a second chance to catch indies that didn’t find an audience in theaters and long-shot awards hopefuls:

February 1

“Conviction” (20th Century Fox, R) — Hilary Swank portrays Betty Anne Waters, a woman who put herself through law school to defend her brother’s innocence in this biopic that never gained enough critical traction to help it break out of a very strong indie season last fall. While the acting was heralded (in addition to two-time Oscar winner Swank, who snagged a SAG nom for best lead actress, there’s Sam Rockwell as the imprisoned brother, Peter Gallagher and Oscar nominees Melissa Leo, Juliette Lewis and Minnie Driver offering support), the script was too conventional to raise the film beyond TV-movie level. Despite its intentions, the Tony Goldwyn-helmed drama grossed less than $7 million. (For more coverage of “Conviction,” watch our video interview...

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers? It's that time year again. Hard to believe that it was a mere twelve months ago where a fire was lit underneath some of you...

First let’s gets the obvious out of the way. The Tourist and that Narnia film are flops plain and simple. Nobody wanted to see them and though, of course, Depp and Jolie will go on the make other films, this pretty much spells the end for anymore Narnia movies. Meet The Fockers was No. 1 expected. Tron Legacy despite dropping some 54% from last week, no doubt due to unenthusiastic word-of-mouth, and came in at No.3. But it’ s going to take a long, slow haul before Disney begins to recoup the film’s reported $175 million cost.

Update: The Jack Black starrer Gulliver Travels died horribly but then again didn’t just everything about that film screamed “Stay Away” like James L. Brook’s How Do You Know? which completely dropped out of the top ten. But the big and most welcome surprise was the strong box office showing for True Grit...

Warner Bros. has sent over the first official image the sequel to Guy Ritche‘s Sherlock Holmes. The film was wildly successfully, grossing over $500 million worldwide, which even more impressive considering it was up against the behemoth known as Avatar. For the sequel, you can see the first image above, which includes Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law returning, as well as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo star Noomi Rapace. They also have our first blank, overtly general synopsis which you can see below.

Guy Ritchie helms a new action-packed adventure, following the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.), and his longtime trusted associate, Dr. Watson (Jude Law), as they match wits with their arch-nemesis, the criminal genius Moriarty (Jared Harris).

Eddie Marsan returns for the sequel and Stephen Fry rounds out the main cast as Mycroft Holmes. We also got word today from Le...

We don't speak French here at ComingSoon.net, but apparently, the guys at The Playlist do, which is why a story in the French paper Les Dernières Nouvelles d.Alsace (subsequently reprinted in French on Cinema Teaser ) about French actor Gilles Lellouche joining Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes 2 along with Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Noomi Rapace, has now been reported. Lellouche appeared in Guillame Canet's Tell No One , a hit both in France and the U.S., as well as Canet's follow-up Little White Lies , which played at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year. He also appeared in the recently-released Mesrine: Killer Instinct opposite Vincent Cassel. Lellouche will be appearing in an unrevealed role when the production shoots for a day at the Notre...

For centuries people have been drawn to the works of William Shakespeare, and filmmakers have brought a wide range of the bard’s plays to the silver screen with varying degrees of success. Among the numerous interpretations, there’s something for everyone. The traditionalist may prefer Sir Laurence Olivier’s works of Hamlet and Richard III, while postmodern film fans might favor the more gruesome and challenging Titus or The Tempest by Julie Taymor. Old school romantics may prefer the musical theater take on Taming of the Shrew, Kiss Me Kate, while teens might favor 10 Things I Hate About You or Baz Lurhmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Shakespeare’s stories have run the gamut of genres, and attracted countless acclaimed actors. Now the latest Shakespearean tale to hit screens will be a science-fiction version of Henry V.

According to The Playlist (via Production Weekly’s Tweet), Henry5 is...

Coming this week to Theatre N, Wilmington's independent art house, experience are the following films and events: October 20 11/4/08 A user-generated feature documentary featuring footage shot all over the world on the day Barack Obama was elected president. There will be a Q & A following the screening with questions submitted via Twitter. October 22-24 Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 is a series about Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and soldier who is living with his parents after the Algerian war. He is seduced by the glamour and easy money of Paris in...

Did you miss the Milwaukee Film Fest this year? Well here's some of the creme of the crop and some movies you can be glad you missed.BestsWaiting For Superman- This film ended up winning the audience award at the Milwaukee Film Fest this year and deservedly so. If you think that a documentary on education in America is boring, think again. The director of the fantastic "An Inconvenient Truth" examines why schools are failing and follows a group of young students pinning their hopes of getting into charter schools.Mesrine: Killer Instinct, Mesrine: Public Enemy #1- Epic and...

Jacques Mesrine was a real-life violent thug with a penchant for publicity and drama and it’s surprising that only now, more than 30 years after his death, they’ve gotten around to making a film about his life. Mesrine: Killer Instinct is a wildly entertaining, if somewhat episodic and scattershot biopic of the famed gangster (Vincent Cassel in an epic, Cesar Award-winning performance), known in his day as the French John Dillinger. Director Jean-Francois Richet barrels breathlessly through 20 years of daring heists, flying bullets, mob violence, love affairs, and jail breaks throughout the 1960s and 1970s and the action clocks in at just under four hours. Actually it’s two movies that open today at the Tivoli in St. Louis; Mesrine: Killer Instinct was made in 2007 and its sequel Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 a year later. European audiences had to wait between films but I would think seeing these back-to-back makes a much more satisfying experience,...

I'm a partial fan of Steven Soderbergh's Che (my theatrical review and Blu-ray review) and even more of a fan of Jean-François Richet's Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1. For anyone that's familiar with those films you should know Oliver Assayas's soon-to-be-released Carlos falls somewhere in the middle. However, how well IFC Films and Assayas were able to whittle down Carlos from the three-part, 5 hour and 30 minute film I reviewed at Cannes down to a two hour and 20 minute movie is yet to be seen.

Don't be discouraged by the run time though, the three-part version will still be out there. The Sundance Channel will premiere the three-part mini-series from October 11 to October 13 and on Friday, October 15, IFC Films will launch the Us theatrical run of the film in New York City, in both the three-part version (IFC Center) as well as a two-and-one-half hour...

French actor Vincent Cassel comes to the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) with two films to promote. In the French drama “Our Day Will Come,” directed by up-and-comer Romain Gravas, Cassel plays a school guidance counselor who mentors a teenage boy (Olivier Barthelemy) ridiculed for being a redhead. “Black Swan,” from director Darren Aronofsky, pushes the 43-year-old Frenchman into the festival spotlight. Cassel stars as the artistic director of a major New York ballet company who gives the shy but determined Nina (Natalie Portman) the chance of a lifetime by casting her as the lead in a production of “Swan Lake.” Behind both these films lies the most important work of Cassel’s career, director Jean-Francois Richet’s two-film drama “Mesrine: Killer Instinct” and “Mesrine: Public Enemy 1” based on the real-life criminal Jacques Mesrine, currently playing in U.S. art cinemas.

Previously, Raffi posted his review of Mesrine: Killer Instinct, the first of a two-part film series. This weekend I saw both films with plans to review the latter, but having seen both, it’s difficult to discuss them as two separate entities.

While the first film is a fast-paced gangster flick in the vein of Goodfellas, the latter is a wandering exploration of the criminal’s downfall. Basically, in classic screenplay structure – the first film ends at the plot’s midpoint. The result is that the films feel hatcheted in two with a roughly hewn book-ending device that ultimately dulls the tension of the second film’s climax.

Having said that, Mesrine is a deeply compelling look into the mind of a criminal genius that follows the notorious Jacques Mesrine from debonair gangster to deluded revolutionary.

Mesrine was a controversial figure to the people of France. As the marketing boasts:...

Of his new film Hereafter, Clint Eastwood said, "I like to think of it as a chick flick, but one that men will like too. Or at least one that won't make them want to stick a Swiss Army knife into their leg.'' (Now there's an endorsement.) Billed as a supernatural thriller, the story covers three people who have had traumatic experiences, and how their lives converge and culminate. Matt Damon plays a psychic who wishes he wasn't (is it just me or are all movie psychics reluctant?), Cécile De France (Mesrine: Killer Instinct) is a journalist who witnessed a tsunami and two unknowns (Frankie and George McLaren) take on their first roles as twin brothers separated by death. Eastwood was reportedly interested in doing a supernatural story and liked Peter Morgan's (Frost/Nixon, The Other Boleyn Girl) script, which incorporates real life events into the fictional tale.

Reviews for independent films are often posted during the week they are released in NYC and La. By the time the movies arrive in the mid- and small-markets, the notices are forgotten. This weekly feature will feature previously published blurbs from indie flicks playing in Portland, Oregon (mid-market) and Portland, Maine (small-market), representing what's also likely playing in similar cities, so that indie fans in smaller markets know what's worth visiting.

* represents Pajiba recommended indie films

Now Playing in Portland, Oregon

*The Tillman Story: In the era of 24-hour news and pundit privateering, The Tillman Story offers up a wonderful yanking of the curtain to expose the machinery behind the spin. The U.S. government and the U.S. military sought to use the corpse of Pat Tillman as a soapbox to tout honor and sacrifice, figuring that the family would stand meekly by, dabbing eyes with tissues and waving tiny American flags.

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Like Mesrine: Killer Instinct, the second half of the four-hour Mesrine saga directed by Jean-François Richet -- Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 -- begins with the end of the story...Mesrine’s (Vincent Cassel) death on November 2, 1979. Killer Instinct never alluded to Mesrine’s murder as being foul play or a tactical mistake on the part of the police, but Public Enemy #1 does. In fact, Public Enemy #1 takes quite a few opportunities to discuss (or at least present) the politics surrounding Mesrine’s life and death without being overly preachy or overtly partisan.