Flickchart on Tumblr
Posts Tagged ‘David Mamet’
The Actor Spotlight: Val Kilmer
24, Apr 2012
Notorious for not playing the game of schmoozing and for picking unconventional movie roles, Val Kilmer has raised eyebrows as often for what he has done as for what he has chosen not to do. At times, he has been presented as a movie star but in truth he’s clearly much more comfortable as an actor. He addressed a packed audience on Saturday, April 15th at C2E2 in Chicago and gamely fielded questions about his filmography. When asked his criteria for choosing a role, he cited its interest to him as the most important factor, emphasizing that he rarely gave much consideration to what the film may do for his career (with one notable exception, explained momentarily). Read the rest of this entry »
by Nigel Druitt
In This Corner…
In 1997, space was a quirky place. Paul Verhoeven went bug-squishing in Starship Troopers. A pre-Resident Evil Paul W.S. Anderson and a pre-Hellboy Guillermo Del Toro gave us very different sci-fi/horror flicks in Event Horizon and Mimic. And Alien Resurrection made the venerable franchise a little weirder under the pen of Joss Whedon and the direction of French indie favorite Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Arguably, the two most successful offerings, however, gave us very unique takes on science fiction (at least from a visual standpoint). One was the surreal and visually unique pet project of a French writer/director who nowadays is better known for writing and producing more generic action fare such as Taken and the Transporter franchise. The other was based on a comic book (back when such things were a little less common), was a bona fide box office smash (coming only behind the then-highest-grossing-movie-of-all-time in the year’s earnings) and cemented Will Smith‘s reputation as a box-office king (fresh as he was off the previous year’s Independence Day). Both films packed plenty of chuckles–intentional and, perhaps, otherwise.
To twist a tagline from that Alien franchise: In space, no one can hear you laugh. But back in ’97, the laughter was heard in multiplexes everywhere. Come enter the Reel Rumbles ring as we take a stroll thirteen years down memory lane and bust heads with some freaky aliens in The Fifth Element vs. Men in Black.
- In: Reel Rumbles|User Showcase
- Tags: 1997, Alien, Alien Resurrection, Barry Sonnenfeld, Bruce Willis, Chris O'Donnell, chris tucker, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, David Mamet, David Schwimmer, Dennis Rodman, E.T., Event Horizon, film, films, Flickchart, From Paris with Love, Gary Oldman, Get Shorty, Guillermo Del Toro, Hellboy, Ian Holm, Independence Day, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Joss Whedon, Luc Besson, matchup, Men in Black, Milla Jovovich, Mimic, movie battles, movies, Paul Verhoeven, Paul W.S. Anderson, Reel Rumbles, Resident Evil, Rick Baker, Star Wars, Starship Troopers, Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, Taken, Taxi, The Addams Family, The Fifth Element, The Professional, The Transporter, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, Will Smith, William Shakespeare
by Dan
Do you consider any of this week’s Blu-ray and DVD releases to be amongst the Best Films of All Time?
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (DVD & Blu-ray)
 |
How would you rank it amongst the best adventure movies of all time?
Flickchart Ranking: #4981
|
Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley and Gemma Arterton star in the first of two potential Disney franchises (the other being The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) that stumbled at the box office this Summer.
Letters to Juliet (DVD & Blu-ray)
 |
How would you rank it amongst the best romantic comedy films of all time?
Flickchart Ranking: #11938 |
The latest from the newest “big thing” in romantic comedies: Amanda Seyfried.
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (DVD)
 |
How would you rank it amongst the best psychological thriller films of all time?
Flickchart Ranking: #9366 |
The latest from legendary director Werner Herzog, featuring the two actors with the creepiest faces and demeanors working today: Willem Dafoe and Michael Shannon.
Just Wright (DVD & Blu-ray)
 |
How would you rank it amongst the best romantic movies of all time?
Flickchart Ranking: #13209 |
Starring the always great Common, although I don’t for a second buy him as a professional basketball player. He’s nearly 40.
- In: New Releases
- Tags: Algiers, Amanda Seyfried, Anaconda, Boogie Woogie, Breathless, Christopher Lee, Christopher Plummer, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Common, David Hasselhoff, David Mamet, Dolemite, Edmond, Field of Dreams, Friday, Heather Graham, Jacob's Ladder, James Mason, JeeJa Yanin, Just Wright, Letters to Juliet, Mandingo, Michael Shannon, My Son My Son What Have Ye Done, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, Outrage Born in Terror, Prince of Persia, Raging Phoenix, Rudy Ray Moore, Seven, StarCrash, The Black Cauldron, The Letter, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Princess and the Frog, The Private Life of Henry VIII, The Quest, The Sugarland Express, The Third Man, Tim Robbins, Topper Returns, Werner Herzog, Willem Dafoe, William H. Macy
- Read More
- Comments Off
Reel Rumbles #9 – “Heat” vs. “Ronin”
13, Nov 2009
In This Corner…
His career as a director spanned seven decades, starting in the Forties with a small job on an early religious program and ending in 2000 with the action-mystery Reindeer Games. With such meager and lifeless bookends, one might question the abilities of director John Frankenheimer, who passed away shortly after his final film at the age of 93. But as poet laureate for Generation Z Miley Cyrus so eloquently sings, “It’s the climb,” and Frankenheimer’s climb was one populated with a tense body of expertly crafted films that brought action and suspense to breathless new heights. His last great work paired him with a tight script and three brilliant actors for some of the most dizzying and fun car chases this side of The French Connection. But in this week’s Reel Rumbles, Ronin has some fierce competition out of Michael Mann, another talented director, with a film that many consider to be his finest hour. A loose remake of his previous made-for-TV effort L.A. Takedown (1989), Heat won the praise of critics and audiences alike, and built a bridge between an overlooked cadre of masterpieces and a prominent career for the director that continues today. Study the blueprints, sync your watches, and get ready for the big score. It’s time for Heat vs. Ronin.
- In: Reel Rumbles
- Tags: 1966, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 40's, 52 Pick-Up, action, agent, Al Pacino, Ashley Judd, best of, Black Sunday, car chases, CIA, cops, crime, David Mamet, Dead Bang, European, Generation Z, Grand Prix, guns, Heat, Hollywood, J.D. Zeik, Jean-Claude Lagniez, John Frankenheimer, Jon Voight, Jonathan Pryce, Katarina Witt, King Kong, Last of the Mohicans, long runtime, Manhunter, Michael Mann, Miley Cyrus, Natalie Portman, Patrick Ronchin, Reel Rumbles, Reindeer Games, Richard Weisz, Robert De Niro, Ronin, Sean Bean, Stellan Skarsgard, stunt drivers, stunts, Ted Levine, The French Connection, The French Connection II, The Good Shepherd, The Insider, Thief, thriller, Tom Noonan, Tom Sizemore, Val Kilmer, Wes Studi