Denzel Washington, Anna Kendrick, Tom Cruise, Jeremy RennerScreenshot: Sony, Photo: Lionsgate, Paramount
Every streaming service offers a wide range of film genres, but Amazon Prime Video seems to be particularly focused on the action-adventure sector. If you’re looking for pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat thrills, the streamer makes for a solid starting point.
Every streaming service offers a wide range of film genres, but Amazon Prime Video seems to be particularly focused on the action-adventure sector. If you’re looking for pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat thrills, the streamer makes for a solid starting point.
- 1/31/2024
- by The A.V. Club
- avclub.com
"They're not driving me out of my own mine!" Film Hub has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror film titled The Haunting of Hell Hole Mine, arriving to watch later in May. This one is being released direct-to-vod for anyone interested. It's one of the final roles from actor Tom Sizemore, who passed away earlier this year. To rescue his niece from insanity, Luke must confront the dark spirit trapped in their ancestral gold mine. The late Tom Sizemore and Tom Lister Jr. star alongside the Oscar nominee Sally Kirkland in the highly anticipated release of this thrilling supernatural western. Rudy Youngblood, May Myot Noe, and David Fennoy also co-star in this unique genre mash-up in the tradition of Cabin in the Woods and Get Out. This looks absolutely awful, but hey maybe some folks will have fun with it. Not much else worth watching here. // Continue Reading...
- 5/8/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Buffalo 8 has announced that it will release Ruben Pla’s feature directorial debut The Horror Crowd on digital and VOD on September 2nd.
The doc brings together an all-star cast of actors and filmmakers to discuss the Hollywood horror community, covering such wide-ranging topics as women in horror, race relations, “being the weird kid,” and film festivals, as well as the unique community and support that exists in the space. Among the near-40 people who appear are filmmakers Russell Mulcahy (Highlander), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Ernest R. Dickerson (The Walking Dead), Adam Robitel (Escape Room), Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic) and Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw franchise), as well as actors Lin Shaye (Insidious), Brea Grant (Dexter), Greg Grunberg (Star Wars: Episode IX) and Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Blumhouse’s Director of Development Ryan Turek.
The Horror Crowd has played to film festivals like FrightFest and Grimmfest and...
The doc brings together an all-star cast of actors and filmmakers to discuss the Hollywood horror community, covering such wide-ranging topics as women in horror, race relations, “being the weird kid,” and film festivals, as well as the unique community and support that exists in the space. Among the near-40 people who appear are filmmakers Russell Mulcahy (Highlander), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Ernest R. Dickerson (The Walking Dead), Adam Robitel (Escape Room), Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic) and Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw franchise), as well as actors Lin Shaye (Insidious), Brea Grant (Dexter), Greg Grunberg (Star Wars: Episode IX) and Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Blumhouse’s Director of Development Ryan Turek.
The Horror Crowd has played to film festivals like FrightFest and Grimmfest and...
- 8/5/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, actor and television host Luis Fonsi (Despacito) has signed on to star in the romantic comedy The Answer to My Prayer, in his feature film acting debut, with Oscar nominee Edward James Olmos (Stand and Deliver) coming aboard the project as an executive producer.
The film from director Patrick Perez Vidauri follows the romantic travails of three friends in San Antonio, Texas whose destinies are changed by an ancient prayer that guides them to true love. Cristina Nava and Vidauri will produce the pic written by Nancy De Los Santos via their companies Migrant Filmworks and Citizen Skull. Roberto Treviño and Eileen Kret (Selena) will serve as its co-producers.
Fonsi is represented by CAA; Olmos by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; and Vidauri and Nava by Citizen Skull Management.
***
Exclusive: Acoryé White (The Seventh Day) and Augie Duke (Mayans M.C.) will star in Trinket Box—a new...
The film from director Patrick Perez Vidauri follows the romantic travails of three friends in San Antonio, Texas whose destinies are changed by an ancient prayer that guides them to true love. Cristina Nava and Vidauri will produce the pic written by Nancy De Los Santos via their companies Migrant Filmworks and Citizen Skull. Roberto Treviño and Eileen Kret (Selena) will serve as its co-producers.
Fonsi is represented by CAA; Olmos by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; and Vidauri and Nava by Citizen Skull Management.
***
Exclusive: Acoryé White (The Seventh Day) and Augie Duke (Mayans M.C.) will star in Trinket Box—a new...
- 7/8/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
"Apocalypto" is a chase movie from a director whose name was a lightning rod for controversy the year of its release, yet the movie itself has sent people chasing after one controversial little Easter Egg involving the red-and-white-striped character: Waldo, of "Where's Waldo?" fame. Leave it to Mel Gibson to pull a Tyler Durden on moviegoers and splice in a rogue frame of footage among an already disturbing scene.
"Apocalypto" is set during the decline of the Mayan civilization in Mexico around 1502. It follows a tribesman named Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) who sees his village raided and who must race through the jungle to escape his captors and save his...
The post The Apocalypto Easter Egg That Disappeared For Years appeared first on /Film.
"Apocalypto" is set during the decline of the Mayan civilization in Mexico around 1502. It follows a tribesman named Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) who sees his village raided and who must race through the jungle to escape his captors and save his...
The post The Apocalypto Easter Egg That Disappeared For Years appeared first on /Film.
- 2/1/2022
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
"Is there anybody that'll ride with 'em?" "I will." Lionsgate has released an official trailer for an indie "epic, action-packed Western" titled Hell on the Border. Based on the true life story of Bass Reeves, a legendary tough African American cowboy in the Wild West. David Gyasi stars as Bass Reeves, the first black deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River. He worked mostly in Arkansas and the Oklahoma Territory. During his long career, he was credited with arresting more than 3,000 felons. He shot and killed 14 outlaws in self-defense. Sounds like quite a badass, alas this trailer isn't that badass after all. Hell on the Border also stars Frank Grillo, Zahn McClarnon, Randy Wayne, Manu Intiraymi, Rudy Youngblood, Ashley Atwood, and Ron Perlman. Looks like this might be entertaining, with some solid action scenes to boot. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Wes Miller's Hell on the Border,...
- 11/8/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Red Sea Media has boarded international sales on action-thriller Hell On The Border, starring David Gyasi (Interstellar), Frank Grillo (Captain America: Winter Soldier) and Ron Perlman (FX’s Sons Of Anarchy).
Pic is directed and co-written by Wes Miller and also stars NFL star Vernon Davis, Rudy Youngblood, Zahn McClarnon, Marshal Teague, Ryan Francis, and Chris Mullinax. Henry Penzi is producing along with Sasha Yelaun, Leo Ohaebosim, and Curtis Nichouls. The film is currently in production and will screen on promo reel at the Efm in Berlin this week.
Set in 1875, the story follows an illiterate former slave (Gyasi) who decides to become a lawman by accepting the thankless assignment of tracking down Bob Dozier (Grillo), the most dangerous outlaw in Indian Territory. Along with him on the journey is Charlie Storm (Perlman), who is working to earn a pardon instead of facing Federal jail time in Detroit.
The...
Pic is directed and co-written by Wes Miller and also stars NFL star Vernon Davis, Rudy Youngblood, Zahn McClarnon, Marshal Teague, Ryan Francis, and Chris Mullinax. Henry Penzi is producing along with Sasha Yelaun, Leo Ohaebosim, and Curtis Nichouls. The film is currently in production and will screen on promo reel at the Efm in Berlin this week.
Set in 1875, the story follows an illiterate former slave (Gyasi) who decides to become a lawman by accepting the thankless assignment of tracking down Bob Dozier (Grillo), the most dangerous outlaw in Indian Territory. Along with him on the journey is Charlie Storm (Perlman), who is working to earn a pardon instead of facing Federal jail time in Detroit.
The...
- 2/7/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
I’ve always felt that the movie Apocalypto was a masterpiece. When it comes to movies where the entire movie is essentially a chase scene I would have to put Apocalypto as one of the top movies on this list. I personally felt that it was one of Mel Gibson’s top three directed films. Braveheart would have to be number one and I’m a little iffy about what would go in the 2 and 3 spots but I’d put Apocalypto in one of them. Critics felt it was a little too violent and over the top. I happen to agree with
‘Apocalypto’ Star Rudy Youngblood Arrested in Miami Casino...
‘Apocalypto’ Star Rudy Youngblood Arrested in Miami Casino...
- 3/19/2017
- by Nat Berman
- TVovermind.com
Rudy Youngblood -- best known for playing Jaguar Paw in "Apocalypto" -- was arrested for being drunk and obnoxious in a Miami casino. According to the police report ... the actor reeked of alcohol and was slurring when cops responded to a call from security at the poker room at Miccosukee Resort & Gaming. Youngblood was allegedly verbally abusive and threatening to other poker room patrons ... which means he probably spoke a lot more than Jaguar Paw ever did.
- 3/19/2017
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's new on Netflix and TV, we've got you covered.
TV Worth Watching
"The Good Wife" (Sunday on CBS at 9 p.m.)
This is it. The end of an era. After seven seasons of heartbreak (she'll always love you, Will!), headaches, incredibly sharp writing, and powerful performances from Julianna Margulies down to the many amazing guest stars, Alicia Florrick's story is coming to an end on May 8. The series finale, appropriately titled "End," was written by showrunners Robert and Michelle King, and directed by Robert King. Margulies told Entertainment Weekly the finale will be "satisfying, uplifting and sad." The showrunners have Not shot down that Josh Charles return rumor, so here's hoping for some kind of flashback/vision/cameo/thing. Also, here's hoping for more of this, from Alicia and Jason:
"Project Runway: All Stars...
TV Worth Watching
"The Good Wife" (Sunday on CBS at 9 p.m.)
This is it. The end of an era. After seven seasons of heartbreak (she'll always love you, Will!), headaches, incredibly sharp writing, and powerful performances from Julianna Margulies down to the many amazing guest stars, Alicia Florrick's story is coming to an end on May 8. The series finale, appropriately titled "End," was written by showrunners Robert and Michelle King, and directed by Robert King. Margulies told Entertainment Weekly the finale will be "satisfying, uplifting and sad." The showrunners have Not shot down that Josh Charles return rumor, so here's hoping for some kind of flashback/vision/cameo/thing. Also, here's hoping for more of this, from Alicia and Jason:
"Project Runway: All Stars...
- 5/2/2016
- by Gina Carbone
- Moviefone
XLrator Media is releasing Daniel Zirilli's action flick Crossing Point on VOD on May 3rd. We have your first look at the key art for the pic.Michael and Olivia are a young American couple vacationing in Baja. Their romantic idyll takes a harrowing turn when Olivia is kidnapped by a drug dealer, who demands that Michael smuggle a backpack full of cocaine -- stolen from a rival cartel -- over the border into the U.S. within 12 hours or else Olivia will be killed. As Michael navigates the treacherous Mexican underworld, he becomes a force to be reckoned with. Crossing Point stars Shawn Lock, Jacob Vargas, Rudy Youngblood with Paulina Gaitan and Tom Sizemore and Luke Goss...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 2/12/2016
- Screen Anarchy
We have a look at four pages from Dark Horse Comics' Dead Vengeance #4, stay tuned after the jump. Also in this morning's round-up: new details / trailer for Rooster Teeth's Lazer Team and Dance of the Blue Tattoo casting news.
Dead Vengeance #4: From Dark Horse Comics: "When John Doe uncovers the conspiracy that led to his untimely demise, he comes face to face with his betrayers as he squares off against the villainous Purple Gang!
* The thrilling conclusion!
* A noir horror story by Bill Morrison (The Simpsons)!
Writer:
Bill Morrison
Penciller:
Tone Rodriguez
Inker:
Keith Champagne
Colorist:
Carlos Badilla
Cover Artist:
Bill Morrison
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crime, Horror
Publication Date:
January 06, 2016
Format:
Fc, 32 pages; Miniseries
Price:
$3.99."
---------
Lazer Team: Press Release: "Austin, TX - Monday, December 14, 2015 - Sci-fi comedy Lazer Team, the first feature film from pioneering creative studio Rooster Teeth, is coming to YouTube Red in the U.
Dead Vengeance #4: From Dark Horse Comics: "When John Doe uncovers the conspiracy that led to his untimely demise, he comes face to face with his betrayers as he squares off against the villainous Purple Gang!
* The thrilling conclusion!
* A noir horror story by Bill Morrison (The Simpsons)!
Writer:
Bill Morrison
Penciller:
Tone Rodriguez
Inker:
Keith Champagne
Colorist:
Carlos Badilla
Cover Artist:
Bill Morrison
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crime, Horror
Publication Date:
January 06, 2016
Format:
Fc, 32 pages; Miniseries
Price:
$3.99."
---------
Lazer Team: Press Release: "Austin, TX - Monday, December 14, 2015 - Sci-fi comedy Lazer Team, the first feature film from pioneering creative studio Rooster Teeth, is coming to YouTube Red in the U.
- 12/29/2015
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Rudy Youngblood is best known for playing the Mayan tribesman Jaguar Paw -- who skirts being sacrificed and races through the jungle to save his family -- in the awesome 2006 film "Apocalypto". Guess what he looks like now! Read more...
- 12/16/2015
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
XLrator Media has announced today that it has acquired U.S. rights to the film Crossing Point, and will release the film in 2016 through its Turbo action label. The action-thriller stars Jacob Vargas (Traffic, The 33), Rudy Youngblood (Apocalypto), Luke Goss (the Death Race series, Blade II), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan), Paulina Gaitan (Sin Nombre, Netflix's Narcos), María Gabriela de Faría (Nickelodeon's Isa Tkm) and newcomer Shawn Lock. It’s directed by Daniel…...
- 10/31/2015
- Deadline
The Us distributor licensed rights from Bleiberg Entertainment’s Compound B and will release via its Turbo label next year.
Compound B will introduce the project to buyers at the market next week in Santa Monica.
Crossing Point follows a pair of holidaymakers in Mexico who fall foul of a local drug lord as a police officer investigating a missing drugs case closes in.
Jacob Vargas, Rudy Youngblood, Luke Goss, Tom Sizemore, Paulina Gaitan and María Gabriela de Faría star alongside newcomer Shawn Lock.
Daniel Zirilli directed from a script by Lock and Paul Dominic and also produced with Lock. Pieter Myny serve as executive producer.
Compound B will introduce the project to buyers at the market next week in Santa Monica.
Crossing Point follows a pair of holidaymakers in Mexico who fall foul of a local drug lord as a police officer investigating a missing drugs case closes in.
Jacob Vargas, Rudy Youngblood, Luke Goss, Tom Sizemore, Paulina Gaitan and María Gabriela de Faría star alongside newcomer Shawn Lock.
Daniel Zirilli directed from a script by Lock and Paul Dominic and also produced with Lock. Pieter Myny serve as executive producer.
- 10/29/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
For the next several days we’ll be highlighting a series of interview clips for Wind Walkers (review), one of the After Dark Film Festival’s “8 Films to Die For.” On tap today we have writer director and star actors Zane… Continue Reading →
The post Exclusive Wind Walkers Interview Clips: Actors Zane Holtz and Rudy Youngblood appeared first on Dread Central.
The post Exclusive Wind Walkers Interview Clips: Actors Zane Holtz and Rudy Youngblood appeared first on Dread Central.
- 10/2/2015
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
*full disclosure: an online screener of this film was provided by Tricoast Worldwide via Cloutcom. Director/writer: Russell Friedenberg. Cast: Zane Holtz, Glen Powell, Phil Burke and Rudy Youngblood. Wind Walkers is based on an ancient Native American legend - a wendigo. Mother Nature has created another monster, which is a curse of "the white man." The film offers a weak message on the environment and possibly on the white man's foreign incursions. There is so much white guilt to wade into. As well, the film's pacing is unusually slow and any real conflict is only introduced just past the one hour mark. The remainder of the film is filled full of inane interactions and repetitive dialogue sequences. Some scenes offer nothing, at all. Many scenes, despite the gorgeous cinematography, appear washed out or overly dark. And, the Wind Walkers is not recommended even for the most patient, or masochist of horror fans.
- 9/6/2015
- by noreply@blogger.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Stars: Zane Holtz, Glen Powell, Kiowa Gordon, Philip Burke, Johnny Sequoyah, J. Larose, Rudy Youngblood, Castille Landon, Christopher Kriesa | Written and Directed by Russell Friedenberg
From the films from actor/writer/director Russell Friedenberg that I have seen, it seems – at least to me – like he has a fascination with three things: Native American culture; the human psyche and the personal demons we all have; and the idea of the stranger among us (even if that “stranger” is familiar to us). With Wind Walkers he combines all three subjects in a story that follows group of friends and family as they descend into the Everglades swamplands for their annual hunting trip, only to discover that they are the ones being hunted by a malevolent entity tracking them through the Everglades…
Now the idea of supernatural spirits is nothing new in Native American culture, or in horror movies. However Friedenberg poses...
From the films from actor/writer/director Russell Friedenberg that I have seen, it seems – at least to me – like he has a fascination with three things: Native American culture; the human psyche and the personal demons we all have; and the idea of the stranger among us (even if that “stranger” is familiar to us). With Wind Walkers he combines all three subjects in a story that follows group of friends and family as they descend into the Everglades swamplands for their annual hunting trip, only to discover that they are the ones being hunted by a malevolent entity tracking them through the Everglades…
Now the idea of supernatural spirits is nothing new in Native American culture, or in horror movies. However Friedenberg poses...
- 8/28/2015
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Boasting a legendary cast comprising Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, John Carradine and more, Pete Walker's House of the Long Shadows will be released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in time for Halloween. Our latest round-up also includes the trailer and release details for Russell Friedenberg's Everglades-set horror film, Wind Walkers, and news on who will score the sophomore season of Syfy's Dominion.
House of the Long Shadows Blu-ray: According to Blu-ray.com, Kino Lorber will release House of the Long Shadows on Blu-ray this September.
Synopsis: "An American writer goes to a remote Welsh manor on a $20,000 bet: can he write a classic novel like "Wuthering Heights" in twenty-four hours? Upon his arrival, however, the writer discovers that the manor, thought empty, actually has several, rather odd, inhabitants."
Directed by Pete Walker from a screenplay by Michael Armstrong (which, in turn, is based on the novel,...
House of the Long Shadows Blu-ray: According to Blu-ray.com, Kino Lorber will release House of the Long Shadows on Blu-ray this September.
Synopsis: "An American writer goes to a remote Welsh manor on a $20,000 bet: can he write a classic novel like "Wuthering Heights" in twenty-four hours? Upon his arrival, however, the writer discovers that the manor, thought empty, actually has several, rather odd, inhabitants."
Directed by Pete Walker from a screenplay by Michael Armstrong (which, in turn, is based on the novel,...
- 3/31/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Acclaimed director Russell Friedenberg’s latest feature, Wind Walkers, has completed post and is primed for an Autumn 2015 release in both the Us and UK and to celebrate, the producers have released the first stills and a brand-new trailer for the film.
A group of friends and family descend into the swamp lands of the Everglades for their annual hunting trip, only to discover that they are the ones being hunted. A malevolent entity is tracking them and they begin to realise that one of their party, Sean (Zane Holtz), may be possessed by something he has brought home from a tour of duty in the Middle East – a demon of war so horrible and deadly that even he is unaware of its devilish presence.
Or are they facing something even more unspeakable? Is a legendary Native American curse about to unleash its dreadful legacy? Has the mysterious Wind Walker beast,...
A group of friends and family descend into the swamp lands of the Everglades for their annual hunting trip, only to discover that they are the ones being hunted. A malevolent entity is tracking them and they begin to realise that one of their party, Sean (Zane Holtz), may be possessed by something he has brought home from a tour of duty in the Middle East – a demon of war so horrible and deadly that even he is unaware of its devilish presence.
Or are they facing something even more unspeakable? Is a legendary Native American curse about to unleash its dreadful legacy? Has the mysterious Wind Walker beast,...
- 3/23/2015
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
We’re back again with another Movie of the Day and once again this week we’re focusing on blinkbox’s Free content. Today’s film, available without subscription, is a fantastic modern Dtv action flick, Beatdown.
Starring some of the greatest Mma stars, Beatdown follows respected street fighter Brandon Becker (Rudy Youngblood), who finds himself in debt to the mob and running for his life. Taking refuge at his fathers place (Danny Trejo) he soon gets involved in the local underground cage-fighting scene. With the help of a former Mma champion (Michael Bisping) he plans to settle his debts.
In the simplest of terms, Beatdown is the Mma version of Never Back Down, complete with town bully, underground fight scene and underdog hero – and actually that’s not a bad thing – the story works well, despite some obvious plot holes (the heroes’ brothers death being the biggest) and the...
Starring some of the greatest Mma stars, Beatdown follows respected street fighter Brandon Becker (Rudy Youngblood), who finds himself in debt to the mob and running for his life. Taking refuge at his fathers place (Danny Trejo) he soon gets involved in the local underground cage-fighting scene. With the help of a former Mma champion (Michael Bisping) he plans to settle his debts.
In the simplest of terms, Beatdown is the Mma version of Never Back Down, complete with town bully, underground fight scene and underdog hero – and actually that’s not a bad thing – the story works well, despite some obvious plot holes (the heroes’ brothers death being the biggest) and the...
- 8/13/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
The Mayans, the wise race of ancients who created hot cocoa, set December 21st, 2012 as the end date of their Calendar, which the intelligent and logical amongst us know signifies the day the world will end, presumably at 12:21:12am, Mountain Time. From now until zero date, we will explore the 50 films you need to watch before the entire world perishes. We don’t have much time, so be content, be prepared, be entertained. The Film: Apocalypto (2006) The Plot: In the early 1500s, a family group of Native Americans live a happy life in the rainforest jungle. Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is becoming a strong hunter under the guidance of his father Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead). However, Jaguar Paw’s nightmares tell of a change that is coming. A group of bloodthirsty warriors attack the village, killing many and enslaving the rest. The warriors bring the victims with them a massive Mayan city, and...
- 5/11/2012
- by Kevin Carr
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Another week, another list of DVDs and Blu-rays out to buy from today, from crazy gross-out comedy to DVD sequels to family favourites, there’s something for everyone!
Cars Toon: Mater’s Tall Tales (DVD/Blu-ray)
Rev up your engines for this unforgettable collection of Cars Toons starring Mater, the loveable and hilarious tow-truck from the hit movie Cars. From the creative minds of Disney Pixar come nine highly entertaining Tall Tales involving bullfights, drag races, rock concerts, monster truck showdowns and even UFOs – plus, check out the new, never-before-seen Cars Toons Mater Private Eye and Moon Mater.
Jackass 3D (DVD/Blu-ray)
Celebrating all forms of madness and mayhem, the entire Jackass crew – including Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-o, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy and Jason “Wee Man” Acuna – returns for more side-splitting lunacy and cringe-inducing stunts. From wild animal face-offs with a crazed bull, to pitiless practical jokes – high-five anyone?...
Cars Toon: Mater’s Tall Tales (DVD/Blu-ray)
Rev up your engines for this unforgettable collection of Cars Toons starring Mater, the loveable and hilarious tow-truck from the hit movie Cars. From the creative minds of Disney Pixar come nine highly entertaining Tall Tales involving bullfights, drag races, rock concerts, monster truck showdowns and even UFOs – plus, check out the new, never-before-seen Cars Toons Mater Private Eye and Moon Mater.
Jackass 3D (DVD/Blu-ray)
Celebrating all forms of madness and mayhem, the entire Jackass crew – including Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-o, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy and Jason “Wee Man” Acuna – returns for more side-splitting lunacy and cringe-inducing stunts. From wild animal face-offs with a crazed bull, to pitiless practical jokes – high-five anyone?...
- 3/14/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Beatdown
Stars: Rudy Youngblood, Susie Abromeit, Eric Balfour, Danny Trejo, Michael Bisping | Written by Bobby Mort | Directed by Mike Gunther
Brandon (Youngblood) is an underground streetfighter whose brother is murdered following a fight. When the gangsters his brother was into debt to come looking for their money, Brandon goes on the run – all the way back to the small town home of his father (Trejo) in Texas. Taking a job as a labourer working for a family friend, he is introduced by a work colleague to the local underground cage-fighting scene reigned over by Victor (Balfour), whose sister Brandon just happens to fall for… After attending one of the regular bouts as a spectator, Brandon meets, and teams up with, Drake Colby (played by Ufc champ Bisping), a former Mma champion now fighting anonymously on the underground circuit. The pair quickly make their way through the local fight circuit until...
Stars: Rudy Youngblood, Susie Abromeit, Eric Balfour, Danny Trejo, Michael Bisping | Written by Bobby Mort | Directed by Mike Gunther
Brandon (Youngblood) is an underground streetfighter whose brother is murdered following a fight. When the gangsters his brother was into debt to come looking for their money, Brandon goes on the run – all the way back to the small town home of his father (Trejo) in Texas. Taking a job as a labourer working for a family friend, he is introduced by a work colleague to the local underground cage-fighting scene reigned over by Victor (Balfour), whose sister Brandon just happens to fall for… After attending one of the regular bouts as a spectator, Brandon meets, and teams up with, Drake Colby (played by Ufc champ Bisping), a former Mma champion now fighting anonymously on the underground circuit. The pair quickly make their way through the local fight circuit until...
- 3/12/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Released on DVD on March 14th by Chelsea Films, Beatdown is the directorial debut feature from top Hollywood stunt coordinator Mike Gunther (Fast Five; Iron Man 2; Star Trek; Die Hard 4). The film is a hard-hitting, mixed martial arts action-thriller starring Rudy Youngblood (Apocalypto), Susie Abromeit (I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell; Sex Drive), Eric Balfour (24) and Danny Trejo (Machete; Predators) and featuring a host of Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment stars including Michael Bisping, Heath Herring, Michael Swick, Bobby Lashley and more.
When his brother is found brutally murdered, up-and-coming illegal streetfighter Brandon Becker (Youngblood) is called upon by the local mob to pay off his brother’s huge gambling debts within the week. Unable to meet the demand, Brandon goes on the run and winds up living with his father (Trejo) in a small redneck town on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. Taking a job...
When his brother is found brutally murdered, up-and-coming illegal streetfighter Brandon Becker (Youngblood) is called upon by the local mob to pay off his brother’s huge gambling debts within the week. Unable to meet the demand, Brandon goes on the run and winds up living with his father (Trejo) in a small redneck town on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. Taking a job...
- 3/11/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Beatdown is a Ufc fighting film that achieves something incredible. In a movie packed with bloody, brutal fights, it remains completely boring. After having seen Beatdown, we all of a sudden have a new found respect for successful action stars and filmmakers. You don't realize how enjoyable the good ones are until you see something like this. In Beatdown, Brandon (Rudy Youngblood) is a fighter in an underground fight club. His brother gambles away money owed to a mob boss and ends up beside the road with a slit throat. Brandon finds out about his brother’s debts and runs away. He goes home to a tiny town where his father (Danny Trejo) is still hanging out in a wheel chair and collecting his disability check. Brandon gets a job moving junk from one pile to another pile, and it turns out that his co-workers run their own hillbilly fight club.
- 9/1/2010
- by Rachel Kolb
- JustPressPlay.net
A look at what's new on DVD today:
"Red Riding Trilogy" (2010)
Directed by Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, and Anand Tucker
Released by IFC Films
Jarrold ("Brideshead Revisited"), Marsh ("Man on Wire") and Tucker ("Shopgirl") take on the epic true crime story of the Yorkshire Ripper, the serial killer that haunted England throughout the '70s and '80s in this three-part series of films: Jarrold's "1974," which stars future Spider-Man Andrew Garfield as a journalist investigating the crime, Marsh's "1980," which follows Paddy Considine's veteran cop who suspects corruption within his own department, and Tucker's "1983," which tracks David Morrissey's detective as he makes the connection between a current kidnapping and those of years ago. (Aaron Hillis' interview with James Marsh is here.)
"Beatdown" (2010)
Directed by Mike Gunther
Released by Lionsgate
Don't you hate it when your brother's murdered, leaving you to make up his debt to a local gangster by...
"Red Riding Trilogy" (2010)
Directed by Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, and Anand Tucker
Released by IFC Films
Jarrold ("Brideshead Revisited"), Marsh ("Man on Wire") and Tucker ("Shopgirl") take on the epic true crime story of the Yorkshire Ripper, the serial killer that haunted England throughout the '70s and '80s in this three-part series of films: Jarrold's "1974," which stars future Spider-Man Andrew Garfield as a journalist investigating the crime, Marsh's "1980," which follows Paddy Considine's veteran cop who suspects corruption within his own department, and Tucker's "1983," which tracks David Morrissey's detective as he makes the connection between a current kidnapping and those of years ago. (Aaron Hillis' interview with James Marsh is here.)
"Beatdown" (2010)
Directed by Mike Gunther
Released by Lionsgate
Don't you hate it when your brother's murdered, leaving you to make up his debt to a local gangster by...
- 8/30/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’s Jake Gyllenhaal cuts it http://ow.ly/1aYIt # Behind-the-scenes interview with Rudy Youngblood on the set of Beat Down http://ow.ly/1aRQs # Tweet This! Share this on Facebook Post this to MySpace Digg this! Share this on del.icio.us Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Linkedin Email this to a friend? Subscribe to the comments for this ...
- 2/25/2010
- by grip
- MovieSet.com
Daydream Nation’s background performers are the pick of the bunch – video http://ow.ly/ZyO7 # Rudy Youngblood mans up in 'Beat Down' http://ow.ly/ZyzJ # Daydream Nation’s Key Production Assistant gives MovieSet the inside story http://ow.ly/ZxWE # Andie MacDowell traveling well on the Daydream Nation set – video http://ow.ly/ZtUi # Sundance Festival started yesterday with ‘Winter’s Bone’ one to look out ...
- 1/23/2010
- by grip
- MovieSet.com
Apocalypto star Rudy Youngblood's Comanche roots are being questioned as a Native American group plans to honor the actor. Youngblood, who played central character Jaguar Paw in Mel Gibson's Mayan history epic, has spoken out about his heritage in interviews, boasting that his ancestors fought at Little Big Horn. But Comanche leaders and Native American historians are questioning his claims. One historian, David Yeagley, tells the Los Angeles Times, "He has no Indian blood in him that anyone can validate." Youngblood, who will be honored at next month's First Americans In The Arts gala in Beverly Hills, admits he can't understand why Yeagley is questioning his heritage. The actor says, "It's very hateful and very negative. He stalks me like he knows me." According to the actor's website, Youngblood hails from the Tahchawwickah Comanche family and is adopted Cree. In his defense, Comanche Nation spokeswoman Jolene Schonchin accepts Youngblood's claims to her tribe: "He does have Comanche blood... from his father's side." But even that is being questioned by members of the Tahchawwickah family, who claim they've never heard of Youngblood, stating the actor wasn't among family members who attended tribe elder Preston Tahchawwickah's funeral in 2005. Youngblood claims Preston Tahchawwickah as his father.
- 3/29/2007
- WENN
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Apocalypto".It really began with his "Braveheart" more than a decade ago, though no one really noticed then because it obeyed all the conventions of a big Hollywood epic, albeit a very violent one. But Mel Gibson's career as a film director is becoming one long essay in human cruelty through the ages. Whatever spiritual messages devout Christians took from 2004's "The Passion of the Christ", its violence was pornographic.
In "Apocalypto", Gibson and co-writer Farhad Safinia turn to the Mayan civilization that dominated present-day Mexico and Central America from 2400 B.C. to the 15th century A.D. They ignore its advances in urban planning, mathematics, art, astronomy, agriculture and writing systems to dwell on its utter barbarity. Men hunt men, rape women and sacrifice victims by tearing hearts from quivering bodies with joyful ferocity.
This is no cheesy exploitation movie, though, but a first-rate epic build around one man's will to survive to rescue his family. In other words, in the good Hollywood tradition, it's got a hero, villain, damsel in distress, exotic natives and breathtaking vistas that evoke feelings of awe and dread. The guy knows how to make a heart-pounding movie; he just happens to be a cinematic sadist.Gibson's well-publicized personal problems, the film's eye-catching key art and critics calling him a sadist probably add up to money in the bank for the Walt Disney Co. "Apocalypto" might not reach the $600 million worldwide grosses of "Passion", but it will attract a considerable international crowd. To his credit, there is never a dull moment.
The movie opens as the Mayan civilization is in its death throes, though no one knows it. We are in a tranquil rain forest where a small community of hunters and baby-makers live in ecological harmony with a nature that provides animals to slaughter and food to gather. Then the village is attacked by marauding mercenary warriors from the capital looking for sacrificial victims to assuage the gods for a drought and plague.
Men and a few women to be sold as slaves or concubines are brutally tied to long poles and marched through the rain forest to the Mayan city. There the men meet their fate atop a pyramid where they are painted blue, draped over an altar stone for an obsidian knife to plunge into the chest and rip out the heart with surgical skill, the heart going into a fire, the head chopped from the body and the corpse flung down the steps to the cackling glee of the assembled townsfolk. Do these guys know how to party or what?
The central figure is family man Jaguar Paw, played by Rudy Youngblood, an expressive and charismatic Native American with considerable athletic and thespian skills. All the actors are Native Americans, and the astute casting is arguably the best thing about this movie. Dalia Hernandez, a Mexican dancer and student, has a lovely face that catches the terror of Jaguar Paw's pregnant wife, who is left behind in the village well that first protects, then traps her and her child.
Canadian Jonathan Brewer plays comical sidekick Blunted, who is the butt of every joke. New Mexican actor Raoul Trujillo makes a sturdy foe as the warrior leader, Zero Wolf, who captures Jaguar Paw and his mates. His villainy is trumped by his sadistic underling Snake Ink -- don't you just love these Jacobean names? -- played by Mexican actor Rodolfo Palacios with zeal. And so it goes down to the smallest role, even a busybody mother-in-law instantly recognizable to many a suffering contemporary husband.
For the first 85 minutes, we along with the captives are dragged into a world of chaos and confusion on this frightening, arduous journey. The freshness of this world, nothing like it having appeared on film before, captures our imagination. Then, suddenly, thanks to divine intervention by solar eclipse, Jaguar Paw escapes his captors.
The movie turns into a much more conventional chase movie with Zero Wolf and his gang racing through the jungle to hunt down and kill Jaguar Paw. Yet the deeper the chase goes into the rain forest, the more the home court advantage swings to our hero. Soon we have a reverse "Deliverance", where the hillbilly is the good guy and every dreadful fate that befalls his pursuers gets cheers from the popcorn crowd.
Like "Passion", Gibson feels -- and he may be right here -- that ancient languages transport audiences into another time and place. The script has been translated into the Mayan dialect spoken in the Yucatan peninsula today. So the movie comes to us in subtitles, my favorite one being "He's fucked."
Often, though, the movie feels like an illustrated lecture without the lecture. We witness all sorts of strange cultural and natural phenomena without having a clue as to their meanings. Why does the rain forest tribe have no defense system? What do the tattoos, headpieces and jewelry mean? Why are sacrificial victims painted blue? It's nice to know that there are few university professors who actually understand this movie.
What's really puzzling is that everyone seems to speak the same language, meaning that enough travel and trade exist so our remote village would certainly be aware of the barbarity of the capital city and its roving warriors. So why does everything that happens to them come as a surprise?
Gibson's crew is exemplary in creating this lost world. Cinematographer Dean Semler, shooting digitally with Panavision's new high-definition Genesis camera system, seemingly can get his graceful, fluid camera into just about any place in that rain forest, which he fills with dazzling light. Designer Tom Sanders' constructions convey us into a world of terrifying oddness and savagery. James Horner's score mingles weird, primordial notes with vague Latin sounds and even Sufi music by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
APOCALYPTO
Buena Vista Pictures
Touchstone Pictures in association with Icon Prods.
Credits: Director: Mel Gibson; Screenwriters: Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia; Producers: Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey; Executive producers: Ned Down, Vicki Christianson; Director of photography: Dean Semler; Production designer: Tom Sanders; Music: James Horner; Co-producer: Farhad Safinia; Costume designer: Mayes C. Rubeo; Editor: John Wright.
Cast: Jaguar Paw: Rudy Youngblood; Seven: Dalia Hernandez; Blunted: Jonathan Brewer; Flint Sky: Morris Birdyellowhead; Turtles Run: Carlos Emilio Baez; Curl Nose: Amilcar Ramirez; Smoke Frog: Israel Contreras; Cocoa Leaf: Israel Rios.
MPAA rating R, running time 136 minutes...
In "Apocalypto", Gibson and co-writer Farhad Safinia turn to the Mayan civilization that dominated present-day Mexico and Central America from 2400 B.C. to the 15th century A.D. They ignore its advances in urban planning, mathematics, art, astronomy, agriculture and writing systems to dwell on its utter barbarity. Men hunt men, rape women and sacrifice victims by tearing hearts from quivering bodies with joyful ferocity.
This is no cheesy exploitation movie, though, but a first-rate epic build around one man's will to survive to rescue his family. In other words, in the good Hollywood tradition, it's got a hero, villain, damsel in distress, exotic natives and breathtaking vistas that evoke feelings of awe and dread. The guy knows how to make a heart-pounding movie; he just happens to be a cinematic sadist.Gibson's well-publicized personal problems, the film's eye-catching key art and critics calling him a sadist probably add up to money in the bank for the Walt Disney Co. "Apocalypto" might not reach the $600 million worldwide grosses of "Passion", but it will attract a considerable international crowd. To his credit, there is never a dull moment.
The movie opens as the Mayan civilization is in its death throes, though no one knows it. We are in a tranquil rain forest where a small community of hunters and baby-makers live in ecological harmony with a nature that provides animals to slaughter and food to gather. Then the village is attacked by marauding mercenary warriors from the capital looking for sacrificial victims to assuage the gods for a drought and plague.
Men and a few women to be sold as slaves or concubines are brutally tied to long poles and marched through the rain forest to the Mayan city. There the men meet their fate atop a pyramid where they are painted blue, draped over an altar stone for an obsidian knife to plunge into the chest and rip out the heart with surgical skill, the heart going into a fire, the head chopped from the body and the corpse flung down the steps to the cackling glee of the assembled townsfolk. Do these guys know how to party or what?
The central figure is family man Jaguar Paw, played by Rudy Youngblood, an expressive and charismatic Native American with considerable athletic and thespian skills. All the actors are Native Americans, and the astute casting is arguably the best thing about this movie. Dalia Hernandez, a Mexican dancer and student, has a lovely face that catches the terror of Jaguar Paw's pregnant wife, who is left behind in the village well that first protects, then traps her and her child.
Canadian Jonathan Brewer plays comical sidekick Blunted, who is the butt of every joke. New Mexican actor Raoul Trujillo makes a sturdy foe as the warrior leader, Zero Wolf, who captures Jaguar Paw and his mates. His villainy is trumped by his sadistic underling Snake Ink -- don't you just love these Jacobean names? -- played by Mexican actor Rodolfo Palacios with zeal. And so it goes down to the smallest role, even a busybody mother-in-law instantly recognizable to many a suffering contemporary husband.
For the first 85 minutes, we along with the captives are dragged into a world of chaos and confusion on this frightening, arduous journey. The freshness of this world, nothing like it having appeared on film before, captures our imagination. Then, suddenly, thanks to divine intervention by solar eclipse, Jaguar Paw escapes his captors.
The movie turns into a much more conventional chase movie with Zero Wolf and his gang racing through the jungle to hunt down and kill Jaguar Paw. Yet the deeper the chase goes into the rain forest, the more the home court advantage swings to our hero. Soon we have a reverse "Deliverance", where the hillbilly is the good guy and every dreadful fate that befalls his pursuers gets cheers from the popcorn crowd.
Like "Passion", Gibson feels -- and he may be right here -- that ancient languages transport audiences into another time and place. The script has been translated into the Mayan dialect spoken in the Yucatan peninsula today. So the movie comes to us in subtitles, my favorite one being "He's fucked."
Often, though, the movie feels like an illustrated lecture without the lecture. We witness all sorts of strange cultural and natural phenomena without having a clue as to their meanings. Why does the rain forest tribe have no defense system? What do the tattoos, headpieces and jewelry mean? Why are sacrificial victims painted blue? It's nice to know that there are few university professors who actually understand this movie.
What's really puzzling is that everyone seems to speak the same language, meaning that enough travel and trade exist so our remote village would certainly be aware of the barbarity of the capital city and its roving warriors. So why does everything that happens to them come as a surprise?
Gibson's crew is exemplary in creating this lost world. Cinematographer Dean Semler, shooting digitally with Panavision's new high-definition Genesis camera system, seemingly can get his graceful, fluid camera into just about any place in that rain forest, which he fills with dazzling light. Designer Tom Sanders' constructions convey us into a world of terrifying oddness and savagery. James Horner's score mingles weird, primordial notes with vague Latin sounds and even Sufi music by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
APOCALYPTO
Buena Vista Pictures
Touchstone Pictures in association with Icon Prods.
Credits: Director: Mel Gibson; Screenwriters: Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia; Producers: Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey; Executive producers: Ned Down, Vicki Christianson; Director of photography: Dean Semler; Production designer: Tom Sanders; Music: James Horner; Co-producer: Farhad Safinia; Costume designer: Mayes C. Rubeo; Editor: John Wright.
Cast: Jaguar Paw: Rudy Youngblood; Seven: Dalia Hernandez; Blunted: Jonathan Brewer; Flint Sky: Morris Birdyellowhead; Turtles Run: Carlos Emilio Baez; Curl Nose: Amilcar Ramirez; Smoke Frog: Israel Contreras; Cocoa Leaf: Israel Rios.
MPAA rating R, running time 136 minutes...
- 12/1/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It really began with his Braveheart more than a decade ago, though no one really noticed then because it obeyed all the conventions of a big Hollywood epic, albeit a very violent one. But Mel Gibson's career as a film director is becoming one long essay in human cruelty through the ages. Whatever spiritual messages devout Christians took from 2004's The Passion of the Christ, its violence was pornographic.
In Apocalypto, Gibson and co-writer Farhad Safinia turn to the Mayan civilization that dominated present-day Mexico and Central America from 2400 B.C. to the 15th century A.D. They ignore its advances in urban planning, mathematics, art, astronomy, agriculture and writing systems to dwell on its utter barbarity. Men hunt men, rape women and sacrifice victims by tearing hearts from quivering bodies with joyful ferocity.
This is no cheesy exploitation movie, though, but a first-rate epic build around one man's will to survive to rescue his family. In other words, in the good Hollywood tradition, it's got a hero, villain, damsel in distress, exotic natives and breathtaking vistas that evoke feelings of awe and dread. The guy knows how to make a heart-pounding movie; he just happens to be a cinematic sadist.Gibson's well-publicized personal problems, the film's eye-catching key art and critics calling him a sadist probably add up to money in the bank for the Walt Disney Co. Apocalypto might not reach the $600 million worldwide grosses of Passion, but it will attract a considerable international crowd. To his credit, there is never a dull moment.
The movie opens as the Mayan civilization is in its death throes, though no one knows it. We are in a tranquil rain forest where a small community of hunters and baby-makers live in ecological harmony with a nature that provides animals to slaughter and food to gather. Then the village is attacked by marauding mercenary warriors from the capital looking for sacrificial victims to assuage the gods for a drought and plague.
Men and a few women to be sold as slaves or concubines are brutally tied to long poles and marched through the rain forest to the Mayan city. There the men meet their fate atop a pyramid where they are painted blue, draped over an altar stone for an obsidian knife to plunge into the chest and rip out the heart with surgical skill, the heart going into a fire, the head chopped from the body and the corpse flung down the steps to the cackling glee of the assembled townsfolk. Do these guys know how to party or what?
The central figure is family man Jaguar Paw, played by Rudy Youngblood, an expressive and charismatic Native American with considerable athletic and thespian skills. All the actors are Native Americans, and the astute casting is arguably the best thing about this movie. Dalia Hernandez, a Mexican dancer and student, has a lovely face that catches the terror of Jaguar Paw's pregnant wife, who is left behind in the village well that first protects, then traps her and her child.
Canadian Jonathan Brewer plays comical sidekick Blunted, who is the butt of every joke. New Mexican actor Raoul Trujillo makes a sturdy foe as the warrior leader, Zero Wolf, who captures Jaguar Paw and his mates. His villainy is trumped by his sadistic underling Snake Ink -- don't you just love these Jacobean names? -- played by Mexican actor Rodolfo Palacios with zeal. And so it goes down to the smallest role, even a busybody mother-in-law instantly recognizable to many a suffering contemporary husband.
For the first 85 minutes, we along with the captives are dragged into a world of chaos and confusion on this frightening, arduous journey. The freshness of this world, nothing like it having appeared on film before, captures our imagination. Then, suddenly, thanks to divine intervention by solar eclipse, Jaguar Paw escapes his captors.
The movie turns into a much more conventional chase movie with Zero Wolf and his gang racing through the jungle to hunt down and kill Jaguar Paw. Yet the deeper the chase goes into the rain forest, the more the home court advantage swings to our hero. Soon we have a reverse Deliverance, where the hillbilly is the good guy and every dreadful fate that befalls his pursuers gets cheers from the popcorn crowd.
Like Passion, Gibson feels -- and he may be right here -- that ancient languages transport audiences into another time and place. The script has been translated into the Mayan dialect spoken in the Yucatan peninsula today. So the movie comes to us in subtitles, my favorite one being "He's fucked."
Often, though, the movie feels like an illustrated lecture without the lecture. We witness all sorts of strange cultural and natural phenomena without having a clue as to their meanings. Why does the rain forest tribe have no defense system? What do the tattoos, headpieces and jewelry mean? Why are sacrificial victims painted blue? It's nice to know that there are few university professors who actually understand this movie.
What's really puzzling is that everyone seems to speak the same language, meaning that enough travel and trade exist so our remote village would certainly be aware of the barbarity of the capital city and its roving warriors. So why does everything that happens to them come as a surprise?
Gibson's crew is exemplary in creating this lost world. Cinematographer Dean Semler, shooting digitally with Panavision's new high-definition Genesis camera system, seemingly can get his graceful, fluid camera into just about any place in that rain forest, which he fills with dazzling light. Designer Tom Sanders' constructions convey us into a world of terrifying oddness and savagery. James Horner's score mingles weird, primordial notes with vague Latin sounds and even Sufi music by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
APOCALYPTO
Buena Vista Pictures
Touchstone Pictures in association with Icon Prods.
Credits: Director: Mel Gibson; Screenwriters: Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia; Producers: Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey; Executive producers: Ned Down, Vicki Christianson; Director of photography: Dean Semler; Production designer: Tom Sanders; Music: James Horner; Co-producer: Farhad Safinia; Costume designer: Mayes C. Rubeo; Editor: John Wright.
Cast: Jaguar Paw: Rudy Youngblood; Seven: Dalia Hernandez; Blunted: Jonathan Brewer; Flint Sky: Morris Birdyellowhead; Turtles Run: Carlos Emilio Baez; Curl Nose: Amilcar Ramirez; Smoke Frog: Israel Contreras; Cocoa Leaf: Israel Rios.
MPAA rating R, running time 136 minutes.
In Apocalypto, Gibson and co-writer Farhad Safinia turn to the Mayan civilization that dominated present-day Mexico and Central America from 2400 B.C. to the 15th century A.D. They ignore its advances in urban planning, mathematics, art, astronomy, agriculture and writing systems to dwell on its utter barbarity. Men hunt men, rape women and sacrifice victims by tearing hearts from quivering bodies with joyful ferocity.
This is no cheesy exploitation movie, though, but a first-rate epic build around one man's will to survive to rescue his family. In other words, in the good Hollywood tradition, it's got a hero, villain, damsel in distress, exotic natives and breathtaking vistas that evoke feelings of awe and dread. The guy knows how to make a heart-pounding movie; he just happens to be a cinematic sadist.Gibson's well-publicized personal problems, the film's eye-catching key art and critics calling him a sadist probably add up to money in the bank for the Walt Disney Co. Apocalypto might not reach the $600 million worldwide grosses of Passion, but it will attract a considerable international crowd. To his credit, there is never a dull moment.
The movie opens as the Mayan civilization is in its death throes, though no one knows it. We are in a tranquil rain forest where a small community of hunters and baby-makers live in ecological harmony with a nature that provides animals to slaughter and food to gather. Then the village is attacked by marauding mercenary warriors from the capital looking for sacrificial victims to assuage the gods for a drought and plague.
Men and a few women to be sold as slaves or concubines are brutally tied to long poles and marched through the rain forest to the Mayan city. There the men meet their fate atop a pyramid where they are painted blue, draped over an altar stone for an obsidian knife to plunge into the chest and rip out the heart with surgical skill, the heart going into a fire, the head chopped from the body and the corpse flung down the steps to the cackling glee of the assembled townsfolk. Do these guys know how to party or what?
The central figure is family man Jaguar Paw, played by Rudy Youngblood, an expressive and charismatic Native American with considerable athletic and thespian skills. All the actors are Native Americans, and the astute casting is arguably the best thing about this movie. Dalia Hernandez, a Mexican dancer and student, has a lovely face that catches the terror of Jaguar Paw's pregnant wife, who is left behind in the village well that first protects, then traps her and her child.
Canadian Jonathan Brewer plays comical sidekick Blunted, who is the butt of every joke. New Mexican actor Raoul Trujillo makes a sturdy foe as the warrior leader, Zero Wolf, who captures Jaguar Paw and his mates. His villainy is trumped by his sadistic underling Snake Ink -- don't you just love these Jacobean names? -- played by Mexican actor Rodolfo Palacios with zeal. And so it goes down to the smallest role, even a busybody mother-in-law instantly recognizable to many a suffering contemporary husband.
For the first 85 minutes, we along with the captives are dragged into a world of chaos and confusion on this frightening, arduous journey. The freshness of this world, nothing like it having appeared on film before, captures our imagination. Then, suddenly, thanks to divine intervention by solar eclipse, Jaguar Paw escapes his captors.
The movie turns into a much more conventional chase movie with Zero Wolf and his gang racing through the jungle to hunt down and kill Jaguar Paw. Yet the deeper the chase goes into the rain forest, the more the home court advantage swings to our hero. Soon we have a reverse Deliverance, where the hillbilly is the good guy and every dreadful fate that befalls his pursuers gets cheers from the popcorn crowd.
Like Passion, Gibson feels -- and he may be right here -- that ancient languages transport audiences into another time and place. The script has been translated into the Mayan dialect spoken in the Yucatan peninsula today. So the movie comes to us in subtitles, my favorite one being "He's fucked."
Often, though, the movie feels like an illustrated lecture without the lecture. We witness all sorts of strange cultural and natural phenomena without having a clue as to their meanings. Why does the rain forest tribe have no defense system? What do the tattoos, headpieces and jewelry mean? Why are sacrificial victims painted blue? It's nice to know that there are few university professors who actually understand this movie.
What's really puzzling is that everyone seems to speak the same language, meaning that enough travel and trade exist so our remote village would certainly be aware of the barbarity of the capital city and its roving warriors. So why does everything that happens to them come as a surprise?
Gibson's crew is exemplary in creating this lost world. Cinematographer Dean Semler, shooting digitally with Panavision's new high-definition Genesis camera system, seemingly can get his graceful, fluid camera into just about any place in that rain forest, which he fills with dazzling light. Designer Tom Sanders' constructions convey us into a world of terrifying oddness and savagery. James Horner's score mingles weird, primordial notes with vague Latin sounds and even Sufi music by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
APOCALYPTO
Buena Vista Pictures
Touchstone Pictures in association with Icon Prods.
Credits: Director: Mel Gibson; Screenwriters: Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia; Producers: Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey; Executive producers: Ned Down, Vicki Christianson; Director of photography: Dean Semler; Production designer: Tom Sanders; Music: James Horner; Co-producer: Farhad Safinia; Costume designer: Mayes C. Rubeo; Editor: John Wright.
Cast: Jaguar Paw: Rudy Youngblood; Seven: Dalia Hernandez; Blunted: Jonathan Brewer; Flint Sky: Morris Birdyellowhead; Turtles Run: Carlos Emilio Baez; Curl Nose: Amilcar Ramirez; Smoke Frog: Israel Contreras; Cocoa Leaf: Israel Rios.
MPAA rating R, running time 136 minutes.
- 12/1/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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