On Blu-ray and DVD May 21, 2013

May 20th, 2013

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES



A supernatural love story set in the South, “Beautiful Creatures” tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers: Ethan (Ehrenreich), a young man longing to escape his small town, and Lena (Englert), a mysterious new girl. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town.

Release Date: May 21, 2013

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SIDE EFFECTS



After her husband (Tatum) is released from prison for insider trading, Emily (Mara) begins suffering from terrifying anxiety and turns to psychiatrist Dr. Banks (Law) for help. But when Banks prescribes an experimental drug for her, the side effects have chilling and deadly consequences. Full of unexpected twists, Side Effects is the sexy psychological thriller that critics are calling “wildly unpredictable!” (Marlow Stern, Newsweek).

Release Date: May 21, 2013

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PARKER



Parker (Jason Statham) is a professional thief who lives by a personal code of ethics: Don’t steal from people who can’t afford it and don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it. But on his latest heist, his crew double crosses him, steals his stash, and leaves him for dead. Determined to make sure they regret it, Parker tracks them to Palm Beach, playground of the rich and famous, where the crew is planning their biggest heist ever. Donning the disguise of a rich Texan, Parker takes on an unlikely partner, Leslie (Jennifer Lopez), a savvy insider, who’s short on cash, but big on looks, smarts and ambition. Together, they devise a plan to hijack the score, take everyone down and get away clean. 

Release Date: May 21, 2013

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THE LAST STAND



After leaving his LAPD narcotics post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with remorse and regret, Sheriff Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) moved out of Los Angeles and settled into a life fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction. But that peaceful existence is shattered when Gabriel Cortez (Noriega), the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the western hemisphere, makes a deadly yet spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy.

With the help of a fierce band of lawless mercenaries led by the icy Burrell (Stormare), Cortez begins racing towards the US-Mexico border at 250 mph in a specially-outfitted Corvette ZR1 with a hostage in tow. Cortez’ path: straight through Summerton Junction, where the whole of the U.S. law enforcement, including Agent John Bannister (Whitaker) will have their final opportunity to intercept him before the violent fugitive slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately rallies his team and takes the matter into his own hands, setting the stage for a classic showdown.

Release Date: May 21, 2013

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STUCK BY LIGHTNING



High school senior Carson Phillips (Chris Colfer, Glee) was destined for bigger things than his close-minded small town could ever offer. He was on a path to greatness, but destiny had a different plan when he was suddenly killed by a bolt of lightning in his school parking lot.

Demonstrating that life is what happens while you’re busy planning your future, Carson recounts the last few weeks of his life via witty, insightful flashbacks, including a blackmail scheme targeting the popular kids in school that he concocts with his best friend (Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect ), a home life that includes a mother (Allison Janney, Juno, The West Wing) who’s more interested in the bottle than her son’s future, and an estranged father (Dermot Mulroney, New Girl, My Best Friend’s Wedding) who suddenly appears with a pregnant fiancée (Christina Hendricks, Mad Men).

Release Date: May 21, 2013

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OPEN ROAD



A free-spirited artist discovers that love takes many forms in Open Road, a sensitive and inspiring coming-of-age story available on DVD and Blu-ray™ with Digital Copy and Ultraviolet™ from Universal Studios Home Entertainment on May 21, 2013. Angie, a young Brazilian on the run from her past, finds an unexpected connection with an aging drifter, a handsome cop and his sympathetic sister. As she learns to care for her new friends, Angie finds herself torn between the freedom of her nomadic life and the joy of becoming part of a community that truly cares about her.

Release Date: May 21, 2013

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NIGHTFALL



A Hong Kong celebrity is found floating in the ocean, so embittered and jaded detective Lam (Simon Yam) is called in to find the murderer. He quickly identifies a killer from the past – a brutal man just released from prison (Nick Cheung) with possible ties to the family. But what Lam surmises as a clear-cut case of revenge gets murkier, the more he investigates. Suspicion, facts, and the truth become harder, the closer he looks. What unfolds is a crime from the past. 20 years of lies, and a secret so shocking it threatens to pull the entire case down. Who is the victim and who is the killer?

Release Date: May 21, 2013

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ECSTASY



Based on Irvine Welsh’s best-selling book, Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance, ECSTASY is a twisted tale that explores the euphoric highs and the devastating lows of a chemical romance. Lloyd (Adam Sinclair, Lip Service) is on top of the world – beautiful girls, great club sounds, and a never ending supply of the love drug, sustained by a smuggling sideline for the local drug boss Solo (Carlo Rota, Saw V). But when he meets Heather (Kristin Kreuk, Smallville) he is forced to question if the love he feels is real or just another chemical high. As cracks start to appear in his world he realizes he wants out. If he can just pull off one last trip for Solo, he’ll be free..

Release Date: May 21, 2013

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SNOWFORT PICTURES AND MPI/DARK SKY FILMS ANNOUNCE PRODUCTION UNDERWAY ON STARRY EYES

May 18th, 2013

Starring ingénue Alex Essoe, the horror story is being described as a contemporary take on movies such as Rosemary’s Baby. The cast is rounded out by Amanda Fuller (Cheap Thrills, Last Man Standing – ABC Television), Fabianne Therese (The Aggression Scale, John Dies At The End), Pat Healy (Cheap Thrills, Compliance, The Innkeepers), Shane Coffey (Pretty Little Liars – ABC Television), Marc Senter (Brawler, Red White & Blue), Nick Simmons and Noah Segan (Looper, Deadgirl).

The screenplay was penned by Widmyer & Kolsch and developed with the help of Snowfort’s Founder/CEO Travis Stevens who is producing the film. The writing/directing team previously worked together on Postcards from the Edge: The Chuck Palahniuk Documentary and the horror film Absence. The film is being executive produced by John Jarzemensky, Aaron Koontz, Giles Daoust and Gena Wilbur.

Widmyer and Kolsch looked to the past for inspiration; “Starry Eyes utilizes the same approach genre films from the 1970′s used, where the horror stems from the character and what they are going through and where the horror represents the internal working of a character.”

Stevens adds “We’re setting out to make a scary film for sure-and ‘Starry Eyes’ is as unsettling a film as you can get. But this is also film about a generation who feel entitled to fame, and an industry that feeds off that desire. And our hope is that the audience will be just as frightened by that dynamic as they are by the stunning special FX make-up.”

MPI’S Dark Sky Films brand includes the successful genre films The House of the Devil, Stake Land, The Innkeepers, Frankenstein’s Army, Hatchet III and Stitches. Snowfort Pictures has had a busy year, with two films premiering at SXSW (Big Ass Spider! and the Audience Award Winner Cheap Thrills, both screening at the Marche du Film) and Jodorowsky’s Dune that premieres in Cannes as part of the Director’s Fortnight program.

THE ICEMAN Movie Review

May 18th, 2013




Co-written and directed by Ariel Vroman, this portrayal of the notorious “Iceman – contract killer” is arguably one of the best efforts to-date. There is nothing about Richard Kuklinski, the notorious cold-blooded killer, that is worth glorifying or celebrating. However, with obvious care, precision and tact Vroman does a great job of letting the great cast bring the brutality and repulsive behavior of the characters to the big screen. 

Michael Shannon (Premium Rush, 2012), has the uncanny voice and face of a mass murderer and gives one of the most riveting performances of his career to-date. He gets inside the warped mind of Richard Kuklinski better than any actor could, as his portrayal sends palpable shivers with each grizzly execution he carries out. It was as if it’s just another day at the office, for Kuklinski and Shannon, portrays this well. Furthermore, Shannon never lets us forget that this guy [Kuklinski] is a menace whom would have made a great poker player, had he not turned to a life of crime.

Winona Ryder, with her best performance in years, plays a superb mob wife whom never seems to acknowledge her husband’s occupation the entire time. It seems as though she simply didn’t know or didn’t want to know what was going on in her husband’s creepy life. She flawlessly portrayed the innocent stay-at-home-mom and bystander with absolute perfection. Likewise, Ray Liotta (Mobster Roy Demeo) seems to have his best screen role since the film GoodFellas, with a paranoid and ruthless demeanor throughout the movie. Demeo of course has his ruthless lieutenants, one of which is played by David Schwimmer (Friends – TV series). Schwimmer, seems a little awkward in the “killer” role, however, it was difficult to determine whether this was by design or simply discomfort. READ FULL THE ICEMAN FILM REVIEW >>

THE VLADAR COMPANY ANNOUNCES PRODUCTION PARTNERSHIP ON UPCOMING MMA THRILLER

May 17th, 2013

The Vladar Company announced today that they have signed on to co-producethe action crime thriller OWN3D alongside executive producer James Hergott. The film, currently in development, was written by Hergott who wrote and executive produced the documentary feature “The Striking Truth” (about the UFC’s #1 PPV draw Georges St-Pierre) and expected to direct this new feature alongside writer/producer Vlad Yudin and his partner Edwin Mejia both of The Vladar Company. This is the first collaboration between Hergott and The Vladar Co. which calls for potential future partnerships between the respective parties.

The film centers on an earnest college student moonlighting as a small time drug dealer on his college campus whose dealings soon conflict with the interests of the town’s drug lord, pulling him further into a chaotic world of greed and violence endangering both his life and the life of the women he loves. As the authorities begin to catch onto his trail, getting out the drug business alive and saving the woman the women he loves seems almost impossible.

This is one of many projects in The Vladar Company’s busy 2013 production and development slate, including the September theatrical release of the highly anticipated docu-film GENERATION IRON, the collaboration with Arcana Studios for the adaptation of the upcoming sci-fi graphic novel HEAD SMASH scheduled for debut in July, the development of THE FRENCH EXECUTIONER alongside Executive Producer Mark Huffam, CBE and the paranormal thriller CATSKILL PARK (currently wrapping post production).

FINDING JOY Movie Trailer

May 17th, 2013

Here is the trailer from Applied Art Productions’ upcoming film FINDING JOY. The film is directed by Carlo De Rosa, starring Josh Cooke, Liane Balaban, Barry Bostwick, Lainie Kazan.

FINDING JOY will open in theaters JUNE 7th, 2013

Pompous and self-absorbed Kyle Livingston (Josh Cooke) is unhappily stuck in his life, longing to relive the success of his first novel. His not-so-desirable life rapidly unravels forcing him to return home to his wildly eccentric family with his tail between his legs, only to discover his estranged father, Alan (Barry Bostwick), a handsome agoraphobic curmudgeon, has converted his old bedroom into a tacky bathroom, fueling Kyle’s rage against his family.

Life at home begins to show signs of improvement when Kyle meets the spunky and vivacious Joy Bailey (Liane Balaban), a delightfully offbeat bohemian beauty who recruits Kyle to help her make the world a better place, making him feel alive for the first time in ages and inspiring his writing. But it’s short-lived. Joy’s been told she’s going to die soon and wants Kyle to write her obituary.

As Kyle spends more and more time getting to know Joy, he accidentally falls in love and grows increasingly skeptical of her claim she’s dying. With the help of his wacky family, Kyle hopes to convince Joy she has many good years left and should spend them with him. But does fate have other plans?

LAST VEGAS Teaser Trailer

May 17th, 2013

Here is the teaser trailer from CBS Films’ upcoming film LAST VEGAS. The film is directed by Jon Turteltaub, starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman & Kevin Kline.

CBS Films will release LAST VEGAS on November 1, 2013

Billy (Academy Award®-winner Michael Douglas), Paddy (Academy Award®-winner Robert De Niro), Archie (Academy Award®-winner Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Academy Award®-winner Kevin Kline) have been best friends since childhood. So when Billy, the group’s sworn bachelor, finally proposes to his thirty-something (of course) girlfriend, the four head to Las Vegas with a plan to stop acting their age and relive their glory days. However, upon arriving, the four quickly realize that the decades have transformed Sin City and tested their friendship in ways they never imagined. The Rat Pack may have once played the Sands and Cirque du Soleil may now rule the Strip, but it’s these four who are taking over Vegas.

HELLO HERMAN Film Trailer

May 17th, 2013

Here is the trailer from the upcoming film HELLO HERMAN. The film is directed by Michelle Danner, starring Norman Reedus, Martha Higareda, Garrett Backstrom, Rob Estes, Andy McPhee.

HELLO HERMAN opens in theaters June 7th, 2013 NYC and LA !

Set in the not so distant future, in Any Town USA, sixteen year old Herman Howards (Garrett Backstrom) makes a fateful decision. He enters his suburban school and kills thirty nine students, two teachers, and a police officer.

Just before his arrest he emails his idol, journalist Lax Morales (Norman Reedus). “I want to tell my story on your show”

Lax, haunted by his own fateful past and the loss of his love Isa Luz (Martha Higareda), now sits face to face with Herman. As he helps Herman to explore and understand his demons Lax must finally face his own.

In Theaters This Week

May 17th, 2013

 STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice. 

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew. 

<<STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS RELATED NEWS>>

  BLACK ROCK

Three young women – Sarah (Kate Bosworth), Abby (Katie Aselton) and Lou (Lake Bell) – get together for a private campout at one of the iconic settings of their childhood, an empty island off the coast of Maine, to renew their bond of sisterhood. They quickly learn, though, that the island is anything but empty, when they encounter three recently-returned servicemen, who have come to the island to hunt. A misunderstanding quickly turns to tragedy, and the three women soon find themselves the targets of the hunt. What started as a simple getaway to recall old times is now a race for survival as three ordinary woman must find extraordinary strength in order to beat the odds against violence and the elements.

Also directed by Aselton and written by her husband Mark Duplass, BLACK ROCK, was filmed on location off the coast of Maine, where beautiful imagery is interplayed with a host of horrors as the three friends try to make it out alive.

 

  ERASED

When ex-CIA agent Ben Logan (Eckhart) discovers that he and his daughter have been marked for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy, a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensues as Logan tries to outsmart his hunters and uncover the truth.

 

 

<<ERASED RELATED NEWS>>

 

 THE ENGLISH TEACHER

Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) is a forty-year-old unmarried high school English teacher in the small town of Kingston, Pennsylvania. She shares a small apartment with two Siamese cats and her rich collection of great literature. She maintains no close personal relationships aside from those she has with her favorite authors and stories. Her life is far less complicated than the dramas she devours on the page, and she likes it that way.

But Linda’s simple life turns an unexpected page when former star pupil Jason Sherwood (Michael Angarano) returns to Kingston after trying to make it as a playwright in New York. Now in his 20s, Jason is on the verge of abandoning art, pressured by his overbearing father, Dr. Tom Sherwood (Greg Kinnear), to face reality and go to law school. Linda can’t stand the thought of Jason giving up on his dreams so she decides to mount his play – a dark, angst-ridden, ambitious work – as a Kingston High School production, with flamboyant drama teacher Carl Kapinas (Nathan Lane) directing. 

As Linda, now well out of her normal comfort zone, takes further risks in life and love, the stage is set for highly comic downfall. With the play, her reputation, and her teaching career on the line, Linda finds an unlikely ally in herself. Amidst the ruins of her formerly perfect life, can she find a way to her own unique storybook ending?

 

  AUGUSTINE

After suffering an inexplicable seizure, which leaves her paralyzed on her right side, 19-year-old Augustine (27 year-old singer-turned-actress Soko in a break out performance) is shipped off to Paris’ all female psychiatric hospital Pitié-Salpêtriere which specializes in detecting the then-fashionable ailment of ‘hysteria’. Augustine captures the attention of Dr. Charcot (Vincent Lindon, Mademoiselle Chambon, Welcome) after a seizure, which appears to give her intense physical pleasure. Intrigued, he begins using her as his principal subject hypnotizing her in front of fellow doctors – as she displays her unusual fits in lecture halls – eventually blurring the lines between doctor and patient.

AUGUSTINE is the feature film directorial debut of 36 year-old director Alice Winocour, a graduate of the Paris film school La Femis. Her first short film Kitchen was selected in competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, and she co-wrote the screenplay for Ursula Meier’s Home. Pop singer Soko was nominated for a César for Best Female Newcomer for Xavier Giannoli’s Cannes Film Festival selection In the Beginning. Chiara Mastroianni, who plays Dr. Charcot’s wife, has collaborated with some of France’s finest directors including André Téchiné (My Favorite Season), Arnaud Desplechin (A Christmas Tale), Christophe Honoré (Love Songs) as well as American directors Robert Altman (Prêt-à-Porter) and Gregg Araki (Nowhere).

The film’s original music is by acclaimed British composer Jocelyn Pook who has worked with a variety of visual, dance and theatre artists and written scores for films including Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut.

<<AUGUSTINE RELATED NEWS>>

 

  FRANCES HA

A valentine to New York City, “Frances Ha” is “a deft, uproarious comedy” (Scott Tobias, The AV Club) from acclaimed director Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale”, “Greenberg”) with a wildly inventive comic performance from Greta Gerwig, who also co-wrote the script. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called it, “Exhilarating, smart and delightful. A terrific new film that’s incredibly rich to watch. Greta Gerwig is embraceable, unpredictable and possessed of gifts for physical comedy. This is unquestionably her defining performance to date.” Frances Ha” has charmed audiences at Telluride, Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival, and IFC Films is proud to be releasing the film in May in New York and Los Angeles before a nationwide rollout.

<<FRANCES HA  RELATED NEWS>>

 

  PIETA

Winner of the Golden Lion at the 2012 Venice Film Festival, Pietà is the acclaimed film from the celebrated and controversial Korean director Kim Ki-Duk (Bad Guy; Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… And Spring; 3-Iron). In this intense and haunting story, a loan shark living an isolated and lonely existence uses brutality to threaten and collect paybacks from desperate borrowers for his moneylender boss. He proficiently and mercilessly collects the debts without regard to the pain he causes his countless victims. One day, a mysterious woman appears in front of him claiming to be his long-lost mother. After coldly rejecting her at first, he gradually accepts her in his life and decides to quit his cruel job and seek a decent, redemptive life. However, he soon discovers a dark secret stemming from his past and realizes it may be too late to escape the horrific consequences already set in motion from his previous life.

 

  POPULAIRE

Spring, 1958: 21-year-old Rose Pamphyle lives with her grouchy widower father who runs the village store. Engaged to the son of the local mechanic, she seems destined for the quiet, drudgery-filled life of a housewife. But that’s not the life Rose longs for. When she travels to Lisieux in Normandy, where charismatic insurance agency boss Louis Echard is advertising for a secretary, the ensuing interview is a disaster. But Rose reveals a special gift – she can type at extraordinary speed. Unwittingly, the young woman awakens the dormant sports fan in Louis. If she wants the job she’ll have to compete in a speed typing competition. Whatever sacrifices Rose must make to reach the top, Louis declares himself her trainer. He’ll turn her into the fastest girl not only in the country, but in the world! But a love of sport doesn’t always mix well with love itself…

<<POPULAIRE RELATED NEWS>>

 

First-Look Footage Of Martial Arts Action Thriller Starring International Box Office Sensation DONNIE YEN To Be Presented In Cannes

May 17th, 2013

Easternlight, the Asian wing of Arclight Films announces it will be presenting first look footage to buyers in Cannes for SPECIAL IDENTITY (Te Shu Shen Fen). The film stars Chinese martial arts box office sensation Donnie Yen (THE LOST BLADESMAN, IP MAN, HERO, BLADE II, IRON MONKEY), is executive produced by Peter Pau and Donnie Yen and is directed by Clarence Fok Yiu-leung.

Yen takes on the role of Zilong Chen, an undercover police officer deep within the ranks of one of China’s most ruthless underworld gangs. The leader of the gang, Xiong (Collin Chou – JET LI’S FEARLESS, THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, THE MATRIX RELOADED), has made it his priority to weed out the government infiltrators in his midst. Struggling to keep his family together and his identity concealed, Chen is torn between two worlds.

Upping the stakes, as Chen’s undercover comrades are being dealt with, one by one, Chen fears his days are numbered. Now, he must risk everything to take down the organization and reclaim the life he lost when he took on this perilous assignment. As the action mounts, Chen must do everything he can to protect the SPECIAL IDENTITY he wishes he never had before it’s too late.

“The world has been waiting for Donnie Yen’s next project and we are excited about SPECIAL IDENTITY and the opportunity to represent a film with such a stellar cast and global commercial viability,” said Ying Ye, Managing Director of Easternlight. “This film really has it all, a remarkably talented cast and crew, and all the makings of an international success. The story is suspenseful and filled with fabulous action and distributors all over the world are already making inquiries. We have no doubt, audiences everywhere will love it.”

Known around the globe for his unique style of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Donnie Yen has captivated audiences for decades and earned a place on the world stage as an MMA icon. SPECIAL IDENTITY marks the return of Donnie Yen’s much anticipated, distinctive MMA to the big screen, which has not been seen for six long years. The film’s action-driven plot has great depth, which makes it both an exhilarating and meaningful ride. SPECIAL IDENTITY is brutal, ruthless and is filled with mind-blowing action scenes that will keep movie-goes on their edge of their seats throughout the film.

The film stars Donnie Yen, Jing Tian, Zhang Hanyu, Andy On and Colin Chow.

CODE BLACK to have World Premiere at 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival

May 17th, 2013

CODE BLACK gives audiences unprecedented access into the ER at Los Angeles County Hospital, the birthplace of emergency room medicine, through the eyes of several idealistic and adrenaline-seeking ER residents.

First time filmmaker Ryan McGarry is also a doctor at the hospital and took his camera to work during the four years of his residency. With CODE BLACK, he provides deeply personal insight into the triumphs and difficulties he and his fellow residents who train and work at LA County Hospital face on a daily basis. As they are forced to confront the unexpected realities of life and death in a safety net hospital and a healthcare system at the brink of overload, many of them question their own sense of identities as doctors and what it means to practice medicine within the bureaucracy of modern medicine.

CODE BLACK is directed by Ryan McGarry and written by Joshua Altman and Ryan McGarry. The film is produced by Linda Goldstein Knowlton. Executive Producers are Mark Jonathan Harris, Marti Noxon, Edward Newton, M.D., William “Billy” Mallon, M.D., Jan Shoenberger, M.D., Matt Damron, and Diku Mandavia, M.D. Co-producers include Andrew C. Richey and Thomas G. Miller. With cinematography by Nelson Hume, editing by Joshua Altman, and music by James Lavino.