Catering directly to my interests, the Criterion Channel’s January lineup boasts two of my favorite things: James Gray and cats. In the former case it’s his first five features (itself a terrible reminder he only released five movies in 20 years); the latter shows felines the respect they deserve, from Kuroneko to The Long Goodbye, Tourneur’s Cat People and Mick Garris’ Sleepwalkers. Meanwhile, Ava Gardner, Bertrand Tavernier, Isabel Sandoval, Ken Russell, Juleen Compton, George Harrison’s HandMade Films, and the Sundance Film Festival get retrospectives.
Restorations of Soviet sci-fi trip Ikarie Xb 1, The Unknown, and The Music of Regret stream, as does the recent Plan 75. January’s Criterion Editions are Inside Llewyn Davis, Farewell Amor, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and (most intriguingly) the long-out-of-print The Man Who Fell to Earth, Blu-rays of which go for hundreds of dollars.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
Back By Popular Demand
The Graduate,...
Restorations of Soviet sci-fi trip Ikarie Xb 1, The Unknown, and The Music of Regret stream, as does the recent Plan 75. January’s Criterion Editions are Inside Llewyn Davis, Farewell Amor, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and (most intriguingly) the long-out-of-print The Man Who Fell to Earth, Blu-rays of which go for hundreds of dollars.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
Back By Popular Demand
The Graduate,...
- 12/12/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Holy Moses! Has it really been 35 years since Young Guns rode with guns ablazing into theaters? You better believe it, pardner, and Lionsgate plan to celebrate the occasion with a timed 35th-anniversary release of the modern Western on a SteelBook in National 4K Ultra HD (+ Blu-ray + Digital), plus a Best Buy exclusive release on December 5th. This is the first time the film will be available in 4K with a brand-new transfer featuring Dolby Vision Hdr. A new Dolby Atmos audio mix and the original 2.0 stereo theatrical mix will be included. This is also the first time the film will be on digital and Blu-ray.
Here’s the official synopsis for Youg Guns via Lionsgate:
The year is 1878, Lincoln County. John Tunstall, a British ranch owner, hires six rebellious boys as “regulators” to protect his ranch against the ruthless Santa Fe Ring. When Tunstall is killed in an ambush, the Regulators,...
Here’s the official synopsis for Youg Guns via Lionsgate:
The year is 1878, Lincoln County. John Tunstall, a British ranch owner, hires six rebellious boys as “regulators” to protect his ranch against the ruthless Santa Fe Ring. When Tunstall is killed in an ambush, the Regulators,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Howdy pardners! Today, we’re galloping back to 1988, when Christopher Cain and a band of rootin’ tootin’ outlaws shot up the silver screen for the American Western action film Young Guns. Presented as a retelling of the adventures of Billy the Kid during the Lincoln Couty War, Young Gun features a murderers’ row of talent, including Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko, Terence Stamp, Jack Palance, and Terry O’Quinn.
Cain directs from a script by John Fusco. Young Guns revolves around a group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, who become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. However, when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
Historian Paul Hutton once called Young Guns the most historically accurate of all films focusing on the dirty deeds of Billy the Kid as of its year of release.
Cain directs from a script by John Fusco. Young Guns revolves around a group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, who become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. However, when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
Historian Paul Hutton once called Young Guns the most historically accurate of all films focusing on the dirty deeds of Billy the Kid as of its year of release.
- 8/16/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
This year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is set to take place from September 7th through the 17th, and yesterday they invited film fans to guess which ten movies they’ll be screening in their Midnight Madness lineup this year. The hints were the titles of ten movies that could be compared to the films in the lineup in some way. They were Trey Parker’s Orgazmo, Geoff Murphy’s Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Jimmy Wang Yu’s Fantasy Mission Force, Charles Martin Smith’s Trick or Treat, Stan Brakhage’s Dog Star Man, Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead, Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar, Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf, and Theodore J. Flicker’s Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang. Now TIFF has announced the full lineup for both their Midnight Madness and Discovery programmes, and...
- 8/3/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Welcome to The Best Movie You Never Saw, a column dedicated to examining films that have flown under the radar or gained traction throughout the years, earning them a place as a cult classic or underrated gem that was either before it’s time and/or has aged like a fine wine.
This week we’ll be looking at Freejack!
The Story: The year is 2009 – the future. The rich no longer die. Rather, their minds are stored on a program called “The Spiritual Switchboard” while “Bonejackers” steal bodies from the past that they can use. Enter race car driver Alex Furlong (Emilio Estevez), who’s stolen from the moment of his fatal accident to be used as a vessel by a mysterious client. But, when he’s awoken during the transfer, Alex escapes into the hellish future world, only to be pursued by the Bonejackers leader, Vacendak (Mick Jagger), with only his former lover,...
This week we’ll be looking at Freejack!
The Story: The year is 2009 – the future. The rich no longer die. Rather, their minds are stored on a program called “The Spiritual Switchboard” while “Bonejackers” steal bodies from the past that they can use. Enter race car driver Alex Furlong (Emilio Estevez), who’s stolen from the moment of his fatal accident to be used as a vessel by a mysterious client. But, when he’s awoken during the transfer, Alex escapes into the hellish future world, only to be pursued by the Bonejackers leader, Vacendak (Mick Jagger), with only his former lover,...
- 2/2/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
"Freejack" is a weird little movie for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it was just too ahead of its time with its themes of bodily autonomy and technological terror. Maybe its combination of cyberpunk traits made it too similar to movies like "Blade Runner" for audiences at the time to admire it by itself. And of course, maybe the film was just too ambitious for its own good, resulting in ideas that sound amazing in theory but fall flat in execution. There's been a small movement to reevaluate "Freejack," and if we're being completely honest, we wouldn't be opposed to that within reason.
One pivotal scene from the film is likely remembered by two different groups of people. One of these groups, of course, unironically enjoys Geoff Murphy's attempt at adapting Robert Sheckley's "Immortality, Inc." for modern audiences. The other group, however, are the New Yorkers caught in...
One pivotal scene from the film is likely remembered by two different groups of people. One of these groups, of course, unironically enjoys Geoff Murphy's attempt at adapting Robert Sheckley's "Immortality, Inc." for modern audiences. The other group, however, are the New Yorkers caught in...
- 12/31/2022
- by Erin Brady
- Slash Film
Geoff Murphy's 1992 sci-fi thriller "Freejack" has a fun premise. In the distant dystopian future of 2009, the ultra-wealthy can afford to hire special time-traveling agents called bonejackers to reach back in time and kidnap people the second before they are about to die. The wealthy then use futuristic technology to shunt their consciousnesses into the bodies of those they kidnapped. It's an effective way to assure immortality, as well as a clean way to acquire bodies that will not be missed by history. The problem is, when the victims are kidnapped from the past, they arrive in the future unscathed. The wealthy will indeed have to effectively "kill" their victims in order to take over their bodies.
The victims who escape are called freejacks.
As 1990s sci-fi thrillers go, "Freejack" is not terribly well remembered, nor was it an overwhelming hit (it made a mere 17 million at the domestic box office). The premise,...
The victims who escape are called freejacks.
As 1990s sci-fi thrillers go, "Freejack" is not terribly well remembered, nor was it an overwhelming hit (it made a mere 17 million at the domestic box office). The premise,...
- 12/26/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Tony Barry, the veteran Australian film and television actor who starred in cult Kiwi comedy Goodbye Pork Pie and had a long-running role in the television drama series The Time of Our Lives, has died. He was 81.
Barry’s friend, the New Zealand filmmaker Gaylene Preston, wrote on Facebook that the actor had died in Murwillumbah, Australia after a long illness. “He was one of a kind. A fierce fighter for the underdog, working for indigenous rights and as part of rehabilitation [programs] in the justice system and for the environment,” Preston wrote.
“Tony Barry gone – lovely man, terrific actor and hero of mine. Sad today,” tweeted Sam Neill who starred with Barry in Michael Blakemore’s Country Life.
Born on Aug. 28, 1941, in Queensland, Australia, Barry made his screen debut in 1968 in the television series Skippy: the Bush Kangaroo, which he followed with appearances...
Tony Barry, the veteran Australian film and television actor who starred in cult Kiwi comedy Goodbye Pork Pie and had a long-running role in the television drama series The Time of Our Lives, has died. He was 81.
Barry’s friend, the New Zealand filmmaker Gaylene Preston, wrote on Facebook that the actor had died in Murwillumbah, Australia after a long illness. “He was one of a kind. A fierce fighter for the underdog, working for indigenous rights and as part of rehabilitation [programs] in the justice system and for the environment,” Preston wrote.
“Tony Barry gone – lovely man, terrific actor and hero of mine. Sad today,” tweeted Sam Neill who starred with Barry in Michael Blakemore’s Country Life.
Born on Aug. 28, 1941, in Queensland, Australia, Barry made his screen debut in 1968 in the television series Skippy: the Bush Kangaroo, which he followed with appearances...
- 12/22/2022
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSBest known for iconic roles in The Seventh Seal and The Exorcist, Max von Sydow has died at the age of 90. In light of increasing reports on the Covid-19 outbreak, this year's edition of SXSW has been cancelled, bringing with it the heartbreaking layoffs of one third of its employees. Recommended VIEWINGFor the entire month of March, Leilah Weinraub's Shakedown is exclusively available on Pornhub, where Weinraub hopes to reach women audiences. A chat window will be open for users to discuss the film, and Weinraub will drop in once a week to join the conversation. Read Sarah-Tai Black's review of the film upon its 2018 theatrical release here. A new trailer for Eliza Hittman's Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which follows a young girl as she traverses to New York City for an abortion.
- 3/11/2020
- MUBI
Cliff Curtis and Taika Waititi at the Nz premiere of ‘Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen’.
Cliff Curtis has more 50 screen credits as an actor but he is just as passionate about his role as a producer and executive producer – and he may soon direct his first feature.
“My interest in trying to understand my trade and craft took me behind the camera,” Curtis tells If on the line from his home in Rotorua. “When I got into producing I discovered there is a totally different aspect of my brain and how I think about things.
“With acting you are expected to play to the crowd and to be gregarious. I have that part to my nature but there is another part where I’m very private and I like to spend time on my own, isolated and within my head.
”As a producer you are there at the genesis of the project,...
Cliff Curtis has more 50 screen credits as an actor but he is just as passionate about his role as a producer and executive producer – and he may soon direct his first feature.
“My interest in trying to understand my trade and craft took me behind the camera,” Curtis tells If on the line from his home in Rotorua. “When I got into producing I discovered there is a totally different aspect of my brain and how I think about things.
“With acting you are expected to play to the crowd and to be gregarious. I have that part to my nature but there is another part where I’m very private and I like to spend time on my own, isolated and within my head.
”As a producer you are there at the genesis of the project,...
- 2/28/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Goodbye Pork Pie director helped put his country on the cinematic map in the early 80s before moving to Hollywood
Geoff Murphy, the film-maker who was a key pioneer in the development of the modern New Zealand film industry, has died aged 80, the New Zealand film commission has confirmed. With hits such as Goodbye Pork Pie and The Quiet Earth, Murphy stood alongside Roger Donaldson as a central figure in the creation of a homegrown industry.
Born in Wellington in 1938, Murphy made his mark playing the trumpet in travelling performance co-op Blerta in the 70s, performing at festivals and living as part of a commune. Having made TV shorts in the early 70s, Murphy’s first feature, Wild Man (1977), grew out of his friendship with Blerta founder Bruno Lawrence – who would go on to act in a number of Murphy’s films as well as Donaldson’s 1981 hit Smash Palace.
Geoff Murphy, the film-maker who was a key pioneer in the development of the modern New Zealand film industry, has died aged 80, the New Zealand film commission has confirmed. With hits such as Goodbye Pork Pie and The Quiet Earth, Murphy stood alongside Roger Donaldson as a central figure in the creation of a homegrown industry.
Born in Wellington in 1938, Murphy made his mark playing the trumpet in travelling performance co-op Blerta in the 70s, performing at festivals and living as part of a commune. Having made TV shorts in the early 70s, Murphy’s first feature, Wild Man (1977), grew out of his friendship with Blerta founder Bruno Lawrence – who would go on to act in a number of Murphy’s films as well as Donaldson’s 1981 hit Smash Palace.
- 12/4/2018
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Iconic New Zealand film maker, Geoff Murphy, known for “The Quiet Earth” and work on “Dante’s Peak,” has died. He was 80.
Murphy’s death on Monday was confirmed by the New Zealand Film Commission. The organization called him “one of the leading figures in New Zealand cinema’s renaissance of the late 1970s and 1980s.”
A writer, director and producer, Murphy directed three films in that period – “Goodbye Pork Pie,” “Utu,” and “The Quiet Earth” – that were timely and locally-rooted. They are now considered as Kiwi classics.
Murphy’s creative career kicked off as a founding member of musical, theatrical troupe Blerta. His first film, “Wild Man” was largely developed and improvised by Blerta regulars. Murphy’s road movie “Never Say Die,” gave Temuera Morrison his first starring role.
“At the end of the 1980s, Geoff worked mainly in the U.S., directing films like ‘Young Guns II,’ and...
Murphy’s death on Monday was confirmed by the New Zealand Film Commission. The organization called him “one of the leading figures in New Zealand cinema’s renaissance of the late 1970s and 1980s.”
A writer, director and producer, Murphy directed three films in that period – “Goodbye Pork Pie,” “Utu,” and “The Quiet Earth” – that were timely and locally-rooted. They are now considered as Kiwi classics.
Murphy’s creative career kicked off as a founding member of musical, theatrical troupe Blerta. His first film, “Wild Man” was largely developed and improvised by Blerta regulars. Murphy’s road movie “Never Say Die,” gave Temuera Morrison his first starring role.
“At the end of the 1980s, Geoff worked mainly in the U.S., directing films like ‘Young Guns II,’ and...
- 12/4/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Geoff Murphy, a leading figure in the New Zealand movie industry in the 1970s and ’80s who also helmed such Hollywood fare as Young Guns II and Freejack and was second-unit director on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died. He was 80. Murphy’s death was confirmed by The New Zealand Herald.
His directing credits also include Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Never Say Die , Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu and The Quiet Earth, for which he won Best Director at the 1987 New Zealand Film and TV Awards. He also was second-unit helmer on such films as xXx: State of the Union and Dante’s Peak. Murphy also produced more than a half-dozen of the films he worked on.
Murphy was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film in 2014 and previously had been named as an Arts Icon by the Arts Foundation, which...
His directing credits also include Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Never Say Die , Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu and The Quiet Earth, for which he won Best Director at the 1987 New Zealand Film and TV Awards. He also was second-unit helmer on such films as xXx: State of the Union and Dante’s Peak. Murphy also produced more than a half-dozen of the films he worked on.
Murphy was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film in 2014 and previously had been named as an Arts Icon by the Arts Foundation, which...
- 12/4/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Geoff Murphy.
Producer, director and screenwriter Geoff Murphy, a leading figure in New Zealand cinema’s renaissance of the late 1970s and early 1980s, died in Wellington on Monday. He was 80.
Murphy was best known as the director of Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu and The Quiet Earth. Action-comedy Goodbye Pork Pie, a road movie starring Kelly Johnson, Tony Barry and Claire Oberman, became the first local film to gain blockbuster status at the box office in 1981, according to the New Zealand Film Commission.
“He deserves every ounce of credit for the brilliant things he did with The Quiet Earth,” writer-director Sam Pillsbury told Stuff Nz. “He was a genius and one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever worked with and I learned a lot from him.”
He was was a founding member of Blerta, the musical and theatrical co-operative that toured New Zealand in the early 1970s. His first feature,...
Producer, director and screenwriter Geoff Murphy, a leading figure in New Zealand cinema’s renaissance of the late 1970s and early 1980s, died in Wellington on Monday. He was 80.
Murphy was best known as the director of Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu and The Quiet Earth. Action-comedy Goodbye Pork Pie, a road movie starring Kelly Johnson, Tony Barry and Claire Oberman, became the first local film to gain blockbuster status at the box office in 1981, according to the New Zealand Film Commission.
“He deserves every ounce of credit for the brilliant things he did with The Quiet Earth,” writer-director Sam Pillsbury told Stuff Nz. “He was a genius and one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever worked with and I learned a lot from him.”
He was was a founding member of Blerta, the musical and theatrical co-operative that toured New Zealand in the early 1970s. His first feature,...
- 12/3/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen’
Kiwi director Heperi Mita’s debut feature Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen will have its international premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, which runs from February 24 – January 3.
An intimate portrayal of pioneering filmmaker Merata Mita told through the eyes of her children, the documentary had its world premiere at the New Zealand International Film Festival in August.
Merata was the first Māori woman to write and direct a narrative feature with her 1988 film Mauri while her political films highlighted the injustices for Māori people during the 1980s.
She played a supporting character in her husband Geoff Murphy’s 1983 seminal feature Utu, the saga of a warrior who sets out for vengeance after British forces kill his people. She died in 2010, aged 68.
A film archivist, Heperi drew on the extensive film and television footage of his mother as well as on her own films...
Kiwi director Heperi Mita’s debut feature Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen will have its international premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, which runs from February 24 – January 3.
An intimate portrayal of pioneering filmmaker Merata Mita told through the eyes of her children, the documentary had its world premiere at the New Zealand International Film Festival in August.
Merata was the first Māori woman to write and direct a narrative feature with her 1988 film Mauri while her political films highlighted the injustices for Māori people during the 1980s.
She played a supporting character in her husband Geoff Murphy’s 1983 seminal feature Utu, the saga of a warrior who sets out for vengeance after British forces kill his people. She died in 2010, aged 68.
A film archivist, Heperi drew on the extensive film and television footage of his mother as well as on her own films...
- 11/29/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Cannes 1988 (L-r) John Maynard, whose feature The Navigator was in competition, Nzfc chief executive Jim Booth, Lindsay Shelton and distributor/producer Barrie Everard.
Many of our earliest highlights were at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 1980 we took New Zealand films to the market at Cannes for the first time. We persuaded Geoff Murphy to rush completion of Goodbye Pork Pie and it became New Zealand’s first commercial hit in terms of sales: Six contracts for distribution in 20 countries.
John Laing’s Beyond Reasonable Doubt and Roger Donaldson’s Smash Palace earned success in the market in our second year – with Roger’s film getting one of our first deals for theatrical release in the USA.
In 1982 New Zealand earned official selection at Cannes for the first time with Sam Pillsbury’s The Scarecrow in Directors’ Fortnight.
That was followed in 1983 by Geoff Murphy’s Utu in official selection out...
Many of our earliest highlights were at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 1980 we took New Zealand films to the market at Cannes for the first time. We persuaded Geoff Murphy to rush completion of Goodbye Pork Pie and it became New Zealand’s first commercial hit in terms of sales: Six contracts for distribution in 20 countries.
John Laing’s Beyond Reasonable Doubt and Roger Donaldson’s Smash Palace earned success in the market in our second year – with Roger’s film getting one of our first deals for theatrical release in the USA.
In 1982 New Zealand earned official selection at Cannes for the first time with Sam Pillsbury’s The Scarecrow in Directors’ Fortnight.
That was followed in 1983 by Geoff Murphy’s Utu in official selection out...
- 11/21/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Smash Palace
Blu ray
Arrow Video
1982 / 1.85:1 / Street Date May 28, 2018
Starring Bruno Lawrence, Anna Jemison
Cinematography by Graeme Cowley
Directed by Roger Donaldson
Smash Palace is the wryly grandiose name given to a New Zealand junkyard run by Al Shaw, a tight-lipped workaholic up to his elbows in axle grease and resentment. It also describes the wreck Al has made of his own marriage.
At the beginning of Roger Donaldson’s 1982 film, Shaw and his wife Jacqui are already nearing the end of their rocky alliance – both work at the family business but the family is all Al’s – Jacqui has finally come to terms that she wants no part of it.
Shaw, a burly pub crawler with deep set eyes and the thinnest of skins is an occasional auto jockey who appreciates a finely-tuned V8 but understands little about the niceties of married life. Jacqui is tired of Al...
Blu ray
Arrow Video
1982 / 1.85:1 / Street Date May 28, 2018
Starring Bruno Lawrence, Anna Jemison
Cinematography by Graeme Cowley
Directed by Roger Donaldson
Smash Palace is the wryly grandiose name given to a New Zealand junkyard run by Al Shaw, a tight-lipped workaholic up to his elbows in axle grease and resentment. It also describes the wreck Al has made of his own marriage.
At the beginning of Roger Donaldson’s 1982 film, Shaw and his wife Jacqui are already nearing the end of their rocky alliance – both work at the family business but the family is all Al’s – Jacqui has finally come to terms that she wants no part of it.
Shaw, a burly pub crawler with deep set eyes and the thinnest of skins is an occasional auto jockey who appreciates a finely-tuned V8 but understands little about the niceties of married life. Jacqui is tired of Al...
- 7/10/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Smash Palace (1981) is currently available on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy
Premiering at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, Smash Palace was Roger Donaldson’s second feature following the success of Sleeping Dogs, a film which had heralded the arrival of the New Zealand New Wave.
Smash Palace concerns itself with the marriage of former racing driver Al and French-born Jacqui. The pair had met when she nursed him back to health following a career-ending injury. They married, returned to Al s native New Zealand to take over his late father s wrecking yard business the Smash Palace of the title and had a child. But over time stagnation has set in, Jacqui s resentment of Al has grown, and things are threatening to spill over…
Playing out as a darker, more haunting New Zealand variation on such Us separation movies as Kramer vs. Kramer or Shoot the Moon, Smash Palace offers a brilliant,...
Premiering at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, Smash Palace was Roger Donaldson’s second feature following the success of Sleeping Dogs, a film which had heralded the arrival of the New Zealand New Wave.
Smash Palace concerns itself with the marriage of former racing driver Al and French-born Jacqui. The pair had met when she nursed him back to health following a career-ending injury. They married, returned to Al s native New Zealand to take over his late father s wrecking yard business the Smash Palace of the title and had a child. But over time stagnation has set in, Jacqui s resentment of Al has grown, and things are threatening to spill over…
Playing out as a darker, more haunting New Zealand variation on such Us separation movies as Kramer vs. Kramer or Shoot the Moon, Smash Palace offers a brilliant,...
- 5/30/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sleeping Dogs Starring Sam Neill and Warren Oates Available on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy April 17th
The 1977 New Zealand thriller Sleeping Dogs Starring Sam Neill and Warren Oates will be available on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy on April 17th
Adapted from C.K. Stead s novel Smith s Dream, Sleeping Dogs almost single-handedly kickstarted the New Zealand New Wave, demonstrating that homegrown feature films could resonate with both local and international audiences, and launching the big-screen careers of director Roger Donaldson (No Way Out, Species) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Possession).
Neill in his first lead role in a feature plays Smith, a man escaping the break-up of his marriage by finding isolation on an island off the Coromandel Peninsula. As he settles into his new life, the country is experiencing its own turmoil: an oil embargo has led to martial law and civil war, into which Smith reluctantly finds himself increasingly involved.
Co-starring Warren Oates (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia) as the commander...
Adapted from C.K. Stead s novel Smith s Dream, Sleeping Dogs almost single-handedly kickstarted the New Zealand New Wave, demonstrating that homegrown feature films could resonate with both local and international audiences, and launching the big-screen careers of director Roger Donaldson (No Way Out, Species) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Possession).
Neill in his first lead role in a feature plays Smith, a man escaping the break-up of his marriage by finding isolation on an island off the Coromandel Peninsula. As he settles into his new life, the country is experiencing its own turmoil: an oil embargo has led to martial law and civil war, into which Smith reluctantly finds himself increasingly involved.
Co-starring Warren Oates (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia) as the commander...
- 3/26/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Freejack (1992) Director: Geoff Murphy Stars: Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Anthony Hopkins This weekend, Harrison Ford is back on the hunt for replicants alongside Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049, so Awfully Good Movies is going to activate a cinematic program from the cyberpunk genre that Blade Runner helped influence: 1992’s Freejack, starring Emilio... Read More...
- 10/6/2017
- by Jesse Shade
- JoBlo.com
Get Out..
Despite falling over 40 per cent, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 remains on top of the box office, earning almost $5 million over the weekend; an average of $7,875 per screen. The Disney title stars Australia's Elizabeth Debicki and has grossed $23 million in just two weeks..
Universal.s horror Get Out has debuted in second place, ringing up $1.9 million from 345 screens. With previews, the debut feature from comedian-turned-director Jordan Peele has made just under $2.9 million..
eOne tearjerker A Dog.s Purpose, which stars Dennis Quaid, has opened on 271 screens to make $1.2 million.
Behind it was The Fate of the Furious, which.dropped some 46 per cent to take $928,792 over its fourth weekend. The Universal film now sits on $27.4 million overall..
Now in its third week, Roadshow.s Going In Style brought in $580,556, taking its cume to $3.8 million.
Showing on just 51 screens, the Hindi version of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, distributed by Eros Australia,...
Despite falling over 40 per cent, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 remains on top of the box office, earning almost $5 million over the weekend; an average of $7,875 per screen. The Disney title stars Australia's Elizabeth Debicki and has grossed $23 million in just two weeks..
Universal.s horror Get Out has debuted in second place, ringing up $1.9 million from 345 screens. With previews, the debut feature from comedian-turned-director Jordan Peele has made just under $2.9 million..
eOne tearjerker A Dog.s Purpose, which stars Dennis Quaid, has opened on 271 screens to make $1.2 million.
Behind it was The Fate of the Furious, which.dropped some 46 per cent to take $928,792 over its fourth weekend. The Universal film now sits on $27.4 million overall..
Now in its third week, Roadshow.s Going In Style brought in $580,556, taking its cume to $3.8 million.
Showing on just 51 screens, the Hindi version of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, distributed by Eros Australia,...
- 5/8/2017
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Author: Cai Ross
Earth’s future has always proved a playground of possibility for scriptwriters and directors. Artists are rarely content to make do within the confines of what is merely possible. Setting a movie years in the future is a way of letting their minds off the leash, while usually offering an allegorical reflection of the times in which we currently live. As one fictional time-travel expert once said, “The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.”
Snow White & The Huntsman director Rupert Sanders is the latest in a long line of visual soothsayers who has made his own fate in the form of Ghost In The Shell, which offers us a metropolitan futureworld full of gymnastic augmented cybernetic agents, colossal 3D advertisements and the increasingly regular sight of Juliette Binoche in a lab-coat.
Like many futuristic sci-fi movies, Ghost In The Shell...
Earth’s future has always proved a playground of possibility for scriptwriters and directors. Artists are rarely content to make do within the confines of what is merely possible. Setting a movie years in the future is a way of letting their minds off the leash, while usually offering an allegorical reflection of the times in which we currently live. As one fictional time-travel expert once said, “The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.”
Snow White & The Huntsman director Rupert Sanders is the latest in a long line of visual soothsayers who has made his own fate in the form of Ghost In The Shell, which offers us a metropolitan futureworld full of gymnastic augmented cybernetic agents, colossal 3D advertisements and the increasingly regular sight of Juliette Binoche in a lab-coat.
Like many futuristic sci-fi movies, Ghost In The Shell...
- 3/30/2017
- by Cai Ross
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
“God blinked, and the whole world disappeared.”
The Quiet Earth (1985) screens Wednesday, January 4th at 8pm at Schlafly Bottleworks Restaurant and Bar (7260 Southwest Ave.- at Manchester – Maplewood, Mo 63143) as part of Webster University’s Award-Winning Strange Brew Film Series.
Scientist Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) wakes up on an apparently normal day, to find that all living things on earth have simply vanished from the face of the planet. It transpires that the secret project that he has been working on, called Operation Flashlight, has backfired, and somehow altered the state of the universe. The first half of the film is all about Zac; the discovery that he is all alone, the documenting of his decline from resigned sole survivor to near-madman as the realization of his total solitude bites hard, and how he eventually turns this around in his efforts to contact another living soul. The second half has two more survivors (Joanne,...
The Quiet Earth (1985) screens Wednesday, January 4th at 8pm at Schlafly Bottleworks Restaurant and Bar (7260 Southwest Ave.- at Manchester – Maplewood, Mo 63143) as part of Webster University’s Award-Winning Strange Brew Film Series.
Scientist Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) wakes up on an apparently normal day, to find that all living things on earth have simply vanished from the face of the planet. It transpires that the secret project that he has been working on, called Operation Flashlight, has backfired, and somehow altered the state of the universe. The first half of the film is all about Zac; the discovery that he is all alone, the documenting of his decline from resigned sole survivor to near-madman as the realization of his total solitude bites hard, and how he eventually turns this around in his efforts to contact another living soul. The second half has two more survivors (Joanne,...
- 1/2/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Remember the warning to avoid ‘crossing the streams’ in Ghostbusters? Director Geoff Murphy enjoyed a world-wide release for this eerie sci-fi fantasy about a scientist who becomes unstuck in time-space, alone in an empty world.
The Quiet Earth
Blu-ray
Film Movement
1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / Street Date December 6, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith
Cinematography James Bartle
Production Designer Josephine Ford
Art Direction Rick Kofoed
Film Editor Michael Horton
Original Music John Charles
Written by Bill Baer, Bruno Lawrence, Sam Pillsbury from the novel by Craig Harrison
Produced by Sam Pillsbury, Don Reynolds
Directed by Geoff Murphy
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
New Zealand was indeed quiet on science fiction filmmaking before the massive production Lord of the Rings. When Geoff Murphy and Bruno Lawrence surfaced in 1985 with The Quiet Earth it was received as a pleasant surprise, a brainy alternative to the Australian Road Warrior series. Distinguished...
The Quiet Earth
Blu-ray
Film Movement
1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / Street Date December 6, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith
Cinematography James Bartle
Production Designer Josephine Ford
Art Direction Rick Kofoed
Film Editor Michael Horton
Original Music John Charles
Written by Bill Baer, Bruno Lawrence, Sam Pillsbury from the novel by Craig Harrison
Produced by Sam Pillsbury, Don Reynolds
Directed by Geoff Murphy
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
New Zealand was indeed quiet on science fiction filmmaking before the massive production Lord of the Rings. When Geoff Murphy and Bruno Lawrence surfaced in 1985 with The Quiet Earth it was received as a pleasant surprise, a brainy alternative to the Australian Road Warrior series. Distinguished...
- 11/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This is definitely the time of year when film critic types (I’m sure you know who I mean) spend an inordinate amount of time leading up to awards season—and it all leads up to awards season, don’t it?—compiling lists and trying to convince anyone who will listen that it was a shitty year at the movies for anyone who liked something other than what they saw and liked. And ‘tis the season, or at least ‘thas (?) been in the recent past, for that most beloved of academic parlor games, bemoaning the death of cinema, which, if the sackcloth-and-ashes-clad among us are to be believed, is an increasingly detached and irrelevant art form in the process of being smothered under the wet, steaming blanket of American blockbuster-it is. And it’s going all malnourished from the siphoning off of all the talent back to TV, which, as everyone knows,...
- 1/9/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
The New Zealand Film Commission has named the recipients of its one-off business development scheme Boost, with total funding of more than $NZ450,000.
The scheme is designed to accelerate the slates of active producers and to enable screen businesses to move films more quickly into production.
Applicants were invited to apply for $NZ50,000 - $NZ130,000 per business. At least 50 per cent of the money must be allocated to third party development costs and the commission expects the entire amount to be spent within 12-18 months.
The recipients are Jump Film and Television, Centron Pictures, Pop Film, Four Knights Film and Firefly Films.
Making the announcement at the Big Screen Symposium conference, Nzfc CEO Dave Gibson, said that screen companies in New Zealand are growing in number and scale and he expects the five Boost companies will contribute to this growth.
Founded by Robin Scholes, Jump Pictures is completing Lee Tamahori...
The scheme is designed to accelerate the slates of active producers and to enable screen businesses to move films more quickly into production.
Applicants were invited to apply for $NZ50,000 - $NZ130,000 per business. At least 50 per cent of the money must be allocated to third party development costs and the commission expects the entire amount to be spent within 12-18 months.
The recipients are Jump Film and Television, Centron Pictures, Pop Film, Four Knights Film and Firefly Films.
Making the announcement at the Big Screen Symposium conference, Nzfc CEO Dave Gibson, said that screen companies in New Zealand are growing in number and scale and he expects the five Boost companies will contribute to this growth.
Founded by Robin Scholes, Jump Pictures is completing Lee Tamahori...
- 10/11/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
1985 was the year of Back To The Future, Rocky IV and Rambo II. But what about these 20 movies, that also deserve a fair share of love?
Thirty years ago, Marty McFly was riding high with the smash hit Back To The Future, while Sylvester Stallone enjoyed his most successful year yet with the one-two punch of Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV. It was an era of family sci-fi and teen comedies and bullet-spraying action, where The Breakfast Club and Teen Wolf rubbed shoulders with Death Wish 3 and Commando. Then there were low-key dramas like Out Of Africa and The Color Purple, which were both awards magnets at the Oscars.
Away from all those big hits, 1985 saw the release of a wealth of less successful movies, some of which found a second life on the then-huge home video circuit. Here's our pick of 20 underappreciated films from the year of Rambo,...
Thirty years ago, Marty McFly was riding high with the smash hit Back To The Future, while Sylvester Stallone enjoyed his most successful year yet with the one-two punch of Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV. It was an era of family sci-fi and teen comedies and bullet-spraying action, where The Breakfast Club and Teen Wolf rubbed shoulders with Death Wish 3 and Commando. Then there were low-key dramas like Out Of Africa and The Color Purple, which were both awards magnets at the Oscars.
Away from all those big hits, 1985 saw the release of a wealth of less successful movies, some of which found a second life on the then-huge home video circuit. Here's our pick of 20 underappreciated films from the year of Rambo,...
- 9/2/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
The New Zealand Film Commission made conditonal offers for four feature films including a remake of Kiwi classic Goodbye Pork Pie at its last board meeting.
That brings to 16 the total number of feature films invested in during the financial year, the largest number ever supported in a single twelve months.
One Thousand Ropes
Tusi Tamaese's follow-up to The Orator. A traditional Samoan midwife's ordered existence is thrown off balance by the arrival of his bruised daughter seeking his protection. Produced by Catherine Fitzgerald, the Australasian distributor is Transmission and International sales agent Mongrel Media.
Pork Pie
The remake of Geoff Murphy's 1981 road comedy Goodbye Pork Pie is written and will be directed by his son Matt Murphy, produced by Tom Hern (The Dark Horse) and executive produced by Tim White. The action comedy follows a guy who is determined to reconnect with the woman he left at the altar,...
That brings to 16 the total number of feature films invested in during the financial year, the largest number ever supported in a single twelve months.
One Thousand Ropes
Tusi Tamaese's follow-up to The Orator. A traditional Samoan midwife's ordered existence is thrown off balance by the arrival of his bruised daughter seeking his protection. Produced by Catherine Fitzgerald, the Australasian distributor is Transmission and International sales agent Mongrel Media.
Pork Pie
The remake of Geoff Murphy's 1981 road comedy Goodbye Pork Pie is written and will be directed by his son Matt Murphy, produced by Tom Hern (The Dark Horse) and executive produced by Tim White. The action comedy follows a guy who is determined to reconnect with the woman he left at the altar,...
- 6/23/2015
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
Steven Seagal is planning and writing a third Under Siege movie - and he won't make an Expendables sequel...
News
The first Under Siege movie proved both a springboard for Steven Seagal's career, and also one for director Andrew Davis (who would go on to make The Fugitive). The second Under Siege movie, which switched the action from a boat to a train, did not. We've a soft spot for Under Siege 2, but the 1995 follow-up, directed by Geoff Murphy (Fortress 2, Young Guns II) did not ignite in the same way as the first. And, over time, Steven Seagal and cinema releases were mentioned less and less in the same sentence.
However, Seagal - whose top 25 movies we counted down in, er, some detail here - is keen to make a third instalment of the Under Siege series. Chatting to The Big Issue, he revealed that he'd want the...
News
The first Under Siege movie proved both a springboard for Steven Seagal's career, and also one for director Andrew Davis (who would go on to make The Fugitive). The second Under Siege movie, which switched the action from a boat to a train, did not. We've a soft spot for Under Siege 2, but the 1995 follow-up, directed by Geoff Murphy (Fortress 2, Young Guns II) did not ignite in the same way as the first. And, over time, Steven Seagal and cinema releases were mentioned less and less in the same sentence.
However, Seagal - whose top 25 movies we counted down in, er, some detail here - is keen to make a third instalment of the Under Siege series. Chatting to The Big Issue, he revealed that he'd want the...
- 6/16/2014
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Two things have always remained with me from Geoff Murphy's 1992 sci-fi action flick Freejack. The first is how Rene Russo’s character was supposed to age 18 years, but only her hairstyle changed. The second is “Hit Between the Eyes”, the title song provided by the Scorpions.
Based on Robert Sheckley's novel Immortality, Inc., which was set thousands of years in the future rather than 18 years later, Freejack stars Emilio Estevez as a racecar driver teleported at the moment of his fiery fatal car wreck from 1991 to the futuristic world of 2009, a time in which the hole in the ozone layer has ravaged the impoverished populace, bubble cars are the most popular vehicle, and dying billionaire Anthony Hopkins plans to transplant his mind into Estevez’s body. Emilio escapes, is branded a “freejack,” and now finds himself pursued by evil bounty hunters called “bonejackers” led by Mick Jagger in...
Based on Robert Sheckley's novel Immortality, Inc., which was set thousands of years in the future rather than 18 years later, Freejack stars Emilio Estevez as a racecar driver teleported at the moment of his fiery fatal car wreck from 1991 to the futuristic world of 2009, a time in which the hole in the ozone layer has ravaged the impoverished populace, bubble cars are the most popular vehicle, and dying billionaire Anthony Hopkins plans to transplant his mind into Estevez’s body. Emilio escapes, is branded a “freejack,” and now finds himself pursued by evil bounty hunters called “bonejackers” led by Mick Jagger in...
- 6/15/2013
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
Beginning tonight, Thursday, January 12, 2012, Harlan Bengel, Lute Breuer, Hunter Canning, Anthony Cochrane, Andrew Durand, Ben Horner, Leah Hofmann, Tessa Klein, David Lansbury, David Manis, Nat McIntyre, Geoffrey Murphy, Andy Murray, Tommy Schrider, Jack Spann and Katrina Yaukey join the 37 member acting company of the Tony Award winning production of War Horse. The National Theatre of Great Britains production, presented by Lincoln Center Theater and the National Theatre of Great Britain in association with Bob Boyett, continues its open ended run at the Vivian Beaumont Theater 150 West 65 Street.
- 1/12/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Beginning Thursday, January 12, 2012, Harlan Bengel, Toby Billowitz, Lute Breuer, Hunter Canning, Anthony Cochrane, Andrew Durand, Ben Horner, Leah Hofmann, Tessa Klein, David Lansbury, David Manis, Nat McIntyre, Geoffrey Murphy, Andy Murray, Tommy Schrider, and Jack Spann will join the 37 member acting company of the Tony Award winning production of War Horse. The National Theatre of Great Britains production, presented by Lincoln Center Theater and the National Theatre of Great Britain in association with Bob Boyett, continues its open ended run at the Vivian Beaumont Theater 150 West 65 Street.
- 11/28/2011
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Intrada Records has released a limited edition of the soundtrack for the 1990 western Young Guns II. The album features the original score from the movie composed by Alan Silvestri. Only one track from Silvestri’s music has previously been released on the original soundtrack in 1990. To pre-order the album and listen to lengthy audio clips from the album, visit Intrada’s online store. Young Guns II is directed by Geoff Murphy and stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips and Christian Slater. The movie follows the life of William H. Bonney aka Billy the in the years following the Lincoln County War in which Billy was part of “The Regulators” and the years before Billy’s documented death...
- 9/20/2011
- by filmmusicreporter
- Film Music Reporter
New to Netflix Streaming On Thursday July 7th:The Tourist (PG13 | 2010)
Flickchart Ranking: #4688
Times Ranked: 3030
Win Percentage: 42%
How Many Top-20′s: 5 Users
________________________________________________
The Netflix Api is spitting this one out but we can’t verify it and it seems like this is a casualty of the Sony/Starz contract dispute that pulled a bunch of movies of Netflix Instant Watch. Check back Thursday to see if it’s available.
Directed By: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring: Johnny Depp •� Angelina Jolie •� Paul Bettany •� Timothy Dalton
Genres: Drama •� Paranoid Thriller •� Thriller
• • • • • • • •
Four Rooms (R | 1995)
Flickchart Ranking: #1934
Times Ranked: 23088
Win Percentage: 28%
How Many Top-20′s: 33 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Tim Roth •� Jennifer Beals •� Quentin Tarantino •� Paul Calderon •� Sammi Davis
Genres: Comedy •� Farce
• • • • • • • •
New to Netflix Streaming On Friday July 8th:The Winning Season (PG13 | 2009)
Flickchart Ranking: #9636
Times Ranked: 221
Win Percentage: 30%
How Many Top-20′s: 0 Users...
Flickchart Ranking: #4688
Times Ranked: 3030
Win Percentage: 42%
How Many Top-20′s: 5 Users
________________________________________________
The Netflix Api is spitting this one out but we can’t verify it and it seems like this is a casualty of the Sony/Starz contract dispute that pulled a bunch of movies of Netflix Instant Watch. Check back Thursday to see if it’s available.
Directed By: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring: Johnny Depp •� Angelina Jolie •� Paul Bettany •� Timothy Dalton
Genres: Drama •� Paranoid Thriller •� Thriller
• • • • • • • •
Four Rooms (R | 1995)
Flickchart Ranking: #1934
Times Ranked: 23088
Win Percentage: 28%
How Many Top-20′s: 33 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Tim Roth •� Jennifer Beals •� Quentin Tarantino •� Paul Calderon •� Sammi Davis
Genres: Comedy •� Farce
• • • • • • • •
New to Netflix Streaming On Friday July 8th:The Winning Season (PG13 | 2009)
Flickchart Ranking: #9636
Times Ranked: 221
Win Percentage: 30%
How Many Top-20′s: 0 Users...
- 7/4/2011
- by Daniel Rohr
- Flickchart
Reporting on The Hobbit has become fraught with difficulty. Say it's delayed, and you will see a flurry of denials from every respectable corner of the Internet. But now there appears to be some definitive bad news to come out of the pre-production. According to TheOneRing.net, Guillermo Del Toro is departing The Hobbit. Lest you think this is fansite speculation, the statement was officially made by Del Toro and Peter Jackson to the site.
Del Toro won't direct the film, though he will continue to co-write the screenplays with Fran Walsh, Jackson and Phillipa Boyens. He cites the delays (those delays that supposedly aren't real) as the reason for leaving the production. "After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien's Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures ... The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting...
Del Toro won't direct the film, though he will continue to co-write the screenplays with Fran Walsh, Jackson and Phillipa Boyens. He cites the delays (those delays that supposedly aren't real) as the reason for leaving the production. "After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien's Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures ... The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting...
- 5/31/2010
- by Elisabeth Rappe
- Cinematical
Welcome back to our weekly Top Ten Tuesday, where we the Movie Geeks butt heads until we’ve decided on the top ten picks for a specific category each week. Well, that is when the lot of us aren’t away freezing our nubbins off in the cold coolness of the Sundance Film Festival. So, with Scott and Kirk currently away on a mission to serve up some salty Sundance servitude (all for our readers) I’ve decided to throw a little something together instead of letting this week go wihtout some sort of Top Ten entry.
For whatever reasons and forces that drive my mind into the realms of random and useless thought that I frequent, I was pondering last night the inevitable extinction of the DVD. Granted, the eventual demise of the once was modern standard of movie-watching is likely still years off, but the phrase “not a matter of if,...
For whatever reasons and forces that drive my mind into the realms of random and useless thought that I frequent, I was pondering last night the inevitable extinction of the DVD. Granted, the eventual demise of the once was modern standard of movie-watching is likely still years off, but the phrase “not a matter of if,...
- 1/26/2010
- by Travis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Finally we can all relax; we’re officially living in the future – at least according to the 1992 dystopian sci-fi thriller Freejack, directed by Geoff Murphy (The Quiet Earth) and starring Emilio Estevez, Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins and… Mick Jagger!
Set on the 23rd November 2009, it envisions a desperate future where men are hunted through time to house the minds of the rich and influential, who wait after death on the Spiritual Switchboard until a host body is drafted from the past. Estevez is one such host, or Freejack, as he’s zipped from a car crash in 1993 all the way to… now… where he’s chased around by Mick Jagger, playing a bounty hunter (‘Bonejacker’) called Vacendak, working for Hopkins. Estevez escapes and tries to find his former girlfriend (Russo), who’s become an executive at a huge corporation. The film is based on Immortality Inc. by author Robert Sheckley,...
Set on the 23rd November 2009, it envisions a desperate future where men are hunted through time to house the minds of the rich and influential, who wait after death on the Spiritual Switchboard until a host body is drafted from the past. Estevez is one such host, or Freejack, as he’s zipped from a car crash in 1993 all the way to… now… where he’s chased around by Mick Jagger, playing a bounty hunter (‘Bonejacker’) called Vacendak, working for Hopkins. Estevez escapes and tries to find his former girlfriend (Russo), who’s become an executive at a huge corporation. The film is based on Immortality Inc. by author Robert Sheckley,...
- 11/23/2009
- QuietEarth.us
hhmmmm… no?
Picking apart “best movie” lists made by anyone, methinks, is as futile as trying to ask someone why he married his wife. We all have our different reasons for loving films (or the opposite), and every human being has multiple holes in his or her body, one of which is called “opinions.” What’s fun about lists, though, is that they speak about the people who made them more than a photo and identikit, a list of the cars they own and how much they pay in taxes would. What happens, then, when a sacred cow (not of film criticism, mind you) like CNN picks the best Asian films of all time? More than any indication of quality, I find it peculiar in a way that goes beyond appreciation for film. It sounds a bit like a sort of Eurovision Song contest of filmmaking, being politically correct and...
Picking apart “best movie” lists made by anyone, methinks, is as futile as trying to ask someone why he married his wife. We all have our different reasons for loving films (or the opposite), and every human being has multiple holes in his or her body, one of which is called “opinions.” What’s fun about lists, though, is that they speak about the people who made them more than a photo and identikit, a list of the cars they own and how much they pay in taxes would. What happens, then, when a sacred cow (not of film criticism, mind you) like CNN picks the best Asian films of all time? More than any indication of quality, I find it peculiar in a way that goes beyond appreciation for film. It sounds a bit like a sort of Eurovision Song contest of filmmaking, being politically correct and...
- 9/18/2008
- by X
- Screen Anarchy
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The first New Zealand feature to secure local private investment in four years has started shooting on the eve of the New Zealand government unveiling measures to help the domestic film industry. Silverscreen Films' Spooked goes before the cameras this week. The Geoff Murphy-directed conspiracy thriller stars Cliff Curtis (Whale Rider) and is the first independent New Zealand film since What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, the sequel to Once Were Warriors, to be privately backed.
- 9/23/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The first production from the new partnership Silverscreen Films will be the feature Spooked, a Geoff Murphy-directed thriller starring Cliff Curtis. The film, which has a provisional funding commitment from the New Zealand Film Commission, is due to shoot in May in Auckland. Silverscreen Films has been set up by Geoff Dixon, the founder of award-winning Sydney-based commercials house Silverscreen Prods., and veteran film and TV producer Don Reynolds, of Tasman Films in New Zealand and film.com in Australia. They hope to restore private-investor confidence in the New Zealand and Australian screen industry sectors with more than NZ$50 million ($28 million) worth of production annually.
- 3/18/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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