Arriving on the heels of his “The Boy” and “Brahms: The Boy II,” William Brent Bell’s “Separation” reconfirms the director’s belief that nothing is scarier than creepy killer dolls. His latest, alas, fails to successfully prove that case, and worse, its story about a recently widowed single father struggling with supernatural phenomena is The outlook is dim for this fright-free thriller when it debuts in theaters on April 30.
Jeff (Rupert Friend) is a cartoonist whose former hit, The Grisly Kin, is now firmly in the rearview mirror, even if he refuses to accept that and clings to his artistic integrity like a crutch while his wife (and former creative partner) Maggie (Mamie Gummer) assumes responsibility for financially supporting them and their daughter Jenny (Violet McGraw). Given Jeff’s deadbeat narcissism — as well as his too-close-for-comfort relationship with doting nanny Samantha (Madeline Brewer) — Maggie naturally decides to leave Jeff...
Jeff (Rupert Friend) is a cartoonist whose former hit, The Grisly Kin, is now firmly in the rearview mirror, even if he refuses to accept that and clings to his artistic integrity like a crutch while his wife (and former creative partner) Maggie (Mamie Gummer) assumes responsibility for financially supporting them and their daughter Jenny (Violet McGraw). Given Jeff’s deadbeat narcissism — as well as his too-close-for-comfort relationship with doting nanny Samantha (Madeline Brewer) — Maggie naturally decides to leave Jeff...
- 4/29/2021
- by Nick Schager
- Variety Film + TV
"Brahms: The Boy II" is a hastily and lazily-crafted sequel of the 2016-released horror film, "The Boy". It brings back the creepy doll who ended up having a twisted secret in the earlier edition.
The narrative begins in staccato manner. After an untoward incident that affects Liza (Katie Holmes) and her young son Jude (Christopher Convery), Sean (Owain Yeoman) decides to give his disturbed family a well-deserved break. They move into the guest house of the erstwhile Heelshire Mansion, unaware of its terrifying history.
It is only after Jude gets attached to the eerily life-like doll he finds half buried on the estate that his behaviour changes drastically. The doll, who calls himself Brahms, communicates with "the damaged ones," in this case - Jude. And, like in the previous edition, the doll relays a list of rules to be followed, failing which the obvious would occur.
Worried about the wellbeing of her son,...
The narrative begins in staccato manner. After an untoward incident that affects Liza (Katie Holmes) and her young son Jude (Christopher Convery), Sean (Owain Yeoman) decides to give his disturbed family a well-deserved break. They move into the guest house of the erstwhile Heelshire Mansion, unaware of its terrifying history.
It is only after Jude gets attached to the eerily life-like doll he finds half buried on the estate that his behaviour changes drastically. The doll, who calls himself Brahms, communicates with "the damaged ones," in this case - Jude. And, like in the previous edition, the doll relays a list of rules to be followed, failing which the obvious would occur.
Worried about the wellbeing of her son,...
- 2/22/2020
- GlamSham
The Television Academy just gave David Lynch some good news: The “Twin Peaks” auteur has landed another Emmy nomination.
The organization just approved more names to the “Twin Peaks” nomination for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing: Lynch; Jonathan P. Shaw, Ace; Brian Berdan, Ace; Justin Krohn; and Jason Wa Tucker, Ace. Those names are in addition to Duwayne Dunham, who was previously the only name included in the nomination.
That means Lynch now has a total of four Emmy nominations this year. His other nods include Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special; Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special (with Mark Frost); and as part of the team nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie or Special (for “Part 8”).
The four nominations are great, but pundits are still surprised and disappointed that the critically acclaimed Showtime revival didn’t earn more nominations,...
The organization just approved more names to the “Twin Peaks” nomination for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing: Lynch; Jonathan P. Shaw, Ace; Brian Berdan, Ace; Justin Krohn; and Jason Wa Tucker, Ace. Those names are in addition to Duwayne Dunham, who was previously the only name included in the nomination.
That means Lynch now has a total of four Emmy nominations this year. His other nods include Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special; Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special (with Mark Frost); and as part of the team nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie or Special (for “Part 8”).
The four nominations are great, but pundits are still surprised and disappointed that the critically acclaimed Showtime revival didn’t earn more nominations,...
- 7/19/2018
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will release The Boy on Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand beginning May 10th, and we’ve been provided with two Blu-ray prize packs to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.
————
Prize Details: (2) Winners will receive:
(1) Blu-ray / Digtial HD combo pack copy of The Boy. (1) The Boy T-shirt (1) The Boy candle
How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The Boy Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on May 10th. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.
————
Press Release: “Universal City, California, March 9, 2016 – A young American woman uncovers the menacing nature of the English family she cares for in The Boy, a terrifying...
————
Prize Details: (2) Winners will receive:
(1) Blu-ray / Digtial HD combo pack copy of The Boy. (1) The Boy T-shirt (1) The Boy candle
How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The Boy Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on May 10th. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.
————
Press Release: “Universal City, California, March 9, 2016 – A young American woman uncovers the menacing nature of the English family she cares for in The Boy, a terrifying...
- 5/4/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
When William Eubank made his first film "Love," it was a personal obsession filmed in a set that he built on his family's property and left standing for years. It was funded by the band Angels & Airwaves, and their score was also their third album, a big double-album release. When I saw the film, I thought it was remarkable mainly as an example of just what is possible when someone sets their mind to it. The film didn't really work on a script level, but it suggested that Eubank is capable of great things visually, and that he could stretch a dollar well past the breaking point. His new film "The Signal" made its premiere as a midnight entry at Sundance this year, and I've been chewing on it since seeing it. I have some issues with the film as a narrative, but I am fairly sure at this point...
- 6/14/2014
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
By Terence Johnson
Managing Editor
Independent sci-fi can be a dicey proposition. Lower budgets can mean terrible special effects, the need to create intimacy can lead to poor execution. Luckily, director William Eubank avoids most, if not all of the problems, with his new film The Signal, one of the most compelling indie sci-fi films in the past few years.
The story of The Signal is one of twists and turns and yet everything feels like it happened as it should. Nick (Brenton Thwaites), Jonah and Hailey, Nick’s girlfriend are traveling across the country. Nick and Jonah are MIT freshman who are chasing after the illusive Nomad, a hacker who almost got them expelled. When they get a clue about his location, they drive to the middle of the desert where they have a frightening confrontation that leaves the trio in a government facility. What starts as just a...
Managing Editor
Independent sci-fi can be a dicey proposition. Lower budgets can mean terrible special effects, the need to create intimacy can lead to poor execution. Luckily, director William Eubank avoids most, if not all of the problems, with his new film The Signal, one of the most compelling indie sci-fi films in the past few years.
The story of The Signal is one of twists and turns and yet everything feels like it happened as it should. Nick (Brenton Thwaites), Jonah and Hailey, Nick’s girlfriend are traveling across the country. Nick and Jonah are MIT freshman who are chasing after the illusive Nomad, a hacker who almost got them expelled. When they get a clue about his location, they drive to the middle of the desert where they have a frightening confrontation that leaves the trio in a government facility. What starts as just a...
- 1/24/2014
- by Terence Johnson
- Scott Feinberg
The 2006 summer movie season went out with a reasonable bang courtesy of "Crank", a jacked-up, unapologetically mindless bit of ADD-prescribed escapism that more or less delivers on a nifty premise.
With Jason Statham of "Transporter" fame commandingly in the driver's seat, the Lionsgate picture, which wasn't screened in advance for cranky critics, is tailor-made for young male audiences who view life as one big video game.
Sharing writing and directing chores are first-timers Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, former cinematographers who subsequently turned their attention to helming music videos and commercials.
That background gets put to rigorous use here, with Statham playing Chev Chelios, a professional killer who regains consciousness following a blow to the head, only to discover that he has been injected with a deadly poison that will stop his heart cold within an hour unless he can come up with ways to keep his adrenaline flowing long enough to search for a possible antidote.
As the remaining minutes of his life keep ticking by, Chelios tears through the streets of Los Angeles on an ephedrine-enhanced mission to find the thug Jose Pablo Cantillo) responsible for his grim predicament while hoping to buy a little time from his laid-back personal physician (Dwight Yoakam).
For at least the first half of the film, "Crank" plays out like an adrenaline junkie's wet dream, dishing out enough nonstop, high-octane tongue-in-cheek action to make TV's "24" look like "60 Minutes".
Unfortunately, Statham's Chelios proves to have greater staying power than the vehicle that carries him, and once it takes a detour to pick up his oblivious, bubble-headed girlfriend (Amy Smart), a good chunk of that giddy momentum is forever lost in the process.
But as long as Neveldine and Taylor keep things moving, the movie can be playfully addictive, with DP Adam Biddle and editor Brian Berdan doing their bit to keep that visual energy percolating.
The filmmakers also do well by a guilty pleasure song list that finds amusing uses for "Achy Breaky Heart" and Loverboy's "Turn Me Loose", while Google Maps obligingly tracks Statham's feverish trek through an HD-amped downtown Los Angeles.
Crank
Lionsgate
A Lakeshore Entertainment Group and Lionsgate Films production
Credits:
Directors-screenwriters: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright, Skip Williamson, Michael Davis
Director of photography: Adam Biddle
Production designer: Jerry Fleming, Editor: Brian Berdan
Costume designer: Christopher Lawrence
Music: Paul Haslinger
Cast:
Chev: Jason Statham
Eve: Amy Smart
Verona: Jose Pablo Cantillo
Kaylo: Efren Ramirez
Doc Miles: Dwight Yoakam
Carlito: Carlos Sanz
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 83 minutes...
With Jason Statham of "Transporter" fame commandingly in the driver's seat, the Lionsgate picture, which wasn't screened in advance for cranky critics, is tailor-made for young male audiences who view life as one big video game.
Sharing writing and directing chores are first-timers Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, former cinematographers who subsequently turned their attention to helming music videos and commercials.
That background gets put to rigorous use here, with Statham playing Chev Chelios, a professional killer who regains consciousness following a blow to the head, only to discover that he has been injected with a deadly poison that will stop his heart cold within an hour unless he can come up with ways to keep his adrenaline flowing long enough to search for a possible antidote.
As the remaining minutes of his life keep ticking by, Chelios tears through the streets of Los Angeles on an ephedrine-enhanced mission to find the thug Jose Pablo Cantillo) responsible for his grim predicament while hoping to buy a little time from his laid-back personal physician (Dwight Yoakam).
For at least the first half of the film, "Crank" plays out like an adrenaline junkie's wet dream, dishing out enough nonstop, high-octane tongue-in-cheek action to make TV's "24" look like "60 Minutes".
Unfortunately, Statham's Chelios proves to have greater staying power than the vehicle that carries him, and once it takes a detour to pick up his oblivious, bubble-headed girlfriend (Amy Smart), a good chunk of that giddy momentum is forever lost in the process.
But as long as Neveldine and Taylor keep things moving, the movie can be playfully addictive, with DP Adam Biddle and editor Brian Berdan doing their bit to keep that visual energy percolating.
The filmmakers also do well by a guilty pleasure song list that finds amusing uses for "Achy Breaky Heart" and Loverboy's "Turn Me Loose", while Google Maps obligingly tracks Statham's feverish trek through an HD-amped downtown Los Angeles.
Crank
Lionsgate
A Lakeshore Entertainment Group and Lionsgate Films production
Credits:
Directors-screenwriters: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright, Skip Williamson, Michael Davis
Director of photography: Adam Biddle
Production designer: Jerry Fleming, Editor: Brian Berdan
Costume designer: Christopher Lawrence
Music: Paul Haslinger
Cast:
Chev: Jason Statham
Eve: Amy Smart
Verona: Jose Pablo Cantillo
Kaylo: Efren Ramirez
Doc Miles: Dwight Yoakam
Carlito: Carlos Sanz
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 83 minutes...
Opens
Friday, Jan. 30
Hollywood's rediscovery of novelist Elmore Leonard, a prime source for Westerns before he turned to tales of crime and bottom-feeding opportunists, has resulted in cinematic riches ranging from "52 Pick-Up" and "Get Shorty", to "Out of Sight" and "Jackie Brown".
"The Big Bounce", culled from his 1969 novel, will never join the ranks of great Leonard screen adaptations. It's too loose and casual, all too willing to trade the writer's trademark wit and literary mischief for slapstick comedy. While its theatrical career will be short, its shelf life in video/DVD should be better. Late at night, when one craves undemanding, forgettable amusement, "The Big Bounce" should provide enough bounce to entertain.
Jack Ryan, a migrant worker with a flexible sense of morality and a penchant for getting into trouble, drifted through several of Leonard Early's crime novels, usually set in Leonard's hometown of Detroit or parts of rural Michigan. George Armitage, who has directed movies set in Michigan ("Grosse Point Blank") and tropical climes ("Miami Blues"), clearly prefers the latter. He and writer Sebastian Gutierrez transpose the story from a Michigan resort town to the North Shore of Hawaii's Oahu. This adds surfing, exotic scenery and a tropical decadence one associates with Somerset Maugham's short stories set in the South Seas. However, this tourist destination lacks the ambiance of a backwater community, where corruption and venality can easily flourish.
Owen Wilson plays Jack, who in the movie's opening sequence cold-cocks his foreman (Vinnie Jones) on a construction job with a baseball bat. When he gets out of jail 30 days later, Bob Jr. (Charlie Sheen), a flunky for the shady real estate developer Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise) who hired him, warns Jack to vanish from the island, advice Jack cheerfully ignores.
Surprisingly, a district judge (Morgan Freeman) offers Jack a job as caretaker for a seaside retreat he owns. As if this weren't enough of a lure to stay on, Jack spies Ray's mistress, Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster), a lithe, thrill-seeking beauty who specializes in breaking hearts and get-rich-quick schemes. Wisely, Jack doesn't trust her further than he can throw her. Unwisely, he is eager to gather her into his arms anyway.
"The Big Bounce" doesn't play out in the manner of current caper films. Leonard stories pay more attention to character and milieu and less to building to a heart-pounding climax. Sometimes things don't happen
other times, characters change their minds or see a setup coming before getting trapped.
Armitage plays this one for laughs. Clearly lacking any conviction or much interest in these characters, the director lets his actors goof around in their roles. Wilson and Foster trade quips and dares, dress and undress -- preferably after sneaking into houses or boats they believe to be unoccupied -- but never take the story seriously. Freeman ambles through the movie, giving his scenes no more energy than they deserve.
Sheen and Jones have funny moments as the villain's dumb and dumber assistants. Bebe Neuwirth is an inspired choice to give sass to the cliche of the alcoholic, disillusioned wife of the nasty developer. Meanwhile, Sinise is barely in the movie. Harry Dean Stanton and Willie Nelson drop by to lend scrappy charm to a scene or two. And whenever the action grows stale, which is all too frequently, Armitage cuts to surfers riding giant waves at Waimea or Turtle Bay.
Island melodies waft through George S. Clinton's bouncy score. Cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball and designer Stephen Altman emphasize the vivid colors and luxurious abodes in the still relatively unspoiled surfers' paradise.
THE BIG BOUNCE
Warner Bros. Pictures
Shangri-La Entertainment presents a Material Films production
Credits:
Director: George Armitage
Writer: Sebastian Gutierrez
Based on the novel by: Elmore Leonard
Producers: Steve Bing, Jorge Saralegui
Executive producers: Zane Weiner, Brent Armitage
Director of photography: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Production designer: Stephen Altman
Music: George S. Clinton
Costume designer: Betsy Cox
Editors: Brian Berdan, Barry Malkin.
Cast:
Jack Ryan: Owen Wilson
Walter Crewes: Morgan Freeman
Nancy Hayes: Sara Foster
Bob Jr.: Charlie Sheen
Ray Ritchie: Gary Sinise
Lou Harris: Vinnie Jones
Joe Lurie: Willie Nelson
Alison Ritchie: Bebe Neuwirth
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating PG-13 Kate Bosworth
Pete: Topher Grace
Tad Hamilton: Josh Duhamel
Richard Levy the Driven: Nathan Lane
Richard Levy the Shameless: Sean Hayes
Henry: Gary Cole
Cathy Feely: Ginnifer Goodwin
Angelica: Kathryn Hahn
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, Jan. 30
Hollywood's rediscovery of novelist Elmore Leonard, a prime source for Westerns before he turned to tales of crime and bottom-feeding opportunists, has resulted in cinematic riches ranging from "52 Pick-Up" and "Get Shorty", to "Out of Sight" and "Jackie Brown".
"The Big Bounce", culled from his 1969 novel, will never join the ranks of great Leonard screen adaptations. It's too loose and casual, all too willing to trade the writer's trademark wit and literary mischief for slapstick comedy. While its theatrical career will be short, its shelf life in video/DVD should be better. Late at night, when one craves undemanding, forgettable amusement, "The Big Bounce" should provide enough bounce to entertain.
Jack Ryan, a migrant worker with a flexible sense of morality and a penchant for getting into trouble, drifted through several of Leonard Early's crime novels, usually set in Leonard's hometown of Detroit or parts of rural Michigan. George Armitage, who has directed movies set in Michigan ("Grosse Point Blank") and tropical climes ("Miami Blues"), clearly prefers the latter. He and writer Sebastian Gutierrez transpose the story from a Michigan resort town to the North Shore of Hawaii's Oahu. This adds surfing, exotic scenery and a tropical decadence one associates with Somerset Maugham's short stories set in the South Seas. However, this tourist destination lacks the ambiance of a backwater community, where corruption and venality can easily flourish.
Owen Wilson plays Jack, who in the movie's opening sequence cold-cocks his foreman (Vinnie Jones) on a construction job with a baseball bat. When he gets out of jail 30 days later, Bob Jr. (Charlie Sheen), a flunky for the shady real estate developer Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise) who hired him, warns Jack to vanish from the island, advice Jack cheerfully ignores.
Surprisingly, a district judge (Morgan Freeman) offers Jack a job as caretaker for a seaside retreat he owns. As if this weren't enough of a lure to stay on, Jack spies Ray's mistress, Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster), a lithe, thrill-seeking beauty who specializes in breaking hearts and get-rich-quick schemes. Wisely, Jack doesn't trust her further than he can throw her. Unwisely, he is eager to gather her into his arms anyway.
"The Big Bounce" doesn't play out in the manner of current caper films. Leonard stories pay more attention to character and milieu and less to building to a heart-pounding climax. Sometimes things don't happen
other times, characters change their minds or see a setup coming before getting trapped.
Armitage plays this one for laughs. Clearly lacking any conviction or much interest in these characters, the director lets his actors goof around in their roles. Wilson and Foster trade quips and dares, dress and undress -- preferably after sneaking into houses or boats they believe to be unoccupied -- but never take the story seriously. Freeman ambles through the movie, giving his scenes no more energy than they deserve.
Sheen and Jones have funny moments as the villain's dumb and dumber assistants. Bebe Neuwirth is an inspired choice to give sass to the cliche of the alcoholic, disillusioned wife of the nasty developer. Meanwhile, Sinise is barely in the movie. Harry Dean Stanton and Willie Nelson drop by to lend scrappy charm to a scene or two. And whenever the action grows stale, which is all too frequently, Armitage cuts to surfers riding giant waves at Waimea or Turtle Bay.
Island melodies waft through George S. Clinton's bouncy score. Cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball and designer Stephen Altman emphasize the vivid colors and luxurious abodes in the still relatively unspoiled surfers' paradise.
THE BIG BOUNCE
Warner Bros. Pictures
Shangri-La Entertainment presents a Material Films production
Credits:
Director: George Armitage
Writer: Sebastian Gutierrez
Based on the novel by: Elmore Leonard
Producers: Steve Bing, Jorge Saralegui
Executive producers: Zane Weiner, Brent Armitage
Director of photography: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Production designer: Stephen Altman
Music: George S. Clinton
Costume designer: Betsy Cox
Editors: Brian Berdan, Barry Malkin.
Cast:
Jack Ryan: Owen Wilson
Walter Crewes: Morgan Freeman
Nancy Hayes: Sara Foster
Bob Jr.: Charlie Sheen
Ray Ritchie: Gary Sinise
Lou Harris: Vinnie Jones
Joe Lurie: Willie Nelson
Alison Ritchie: Bebe Neuwirth
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating PG-13 Kate Bosworth
Pete: Topher Grace
Tad Hamilton: Josh Duhamel
Richard Levy the Driven: Nathan Lane
Richard Levy the Shameless: Sean Hayes
Henry: Gary Cole
Cathy Feely: Ginnifer Goodwin
Angelica: Kathryn Hahn
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Opens
Friday, Jan. 30
Hollywood's rediscovery of novelist Elmore Leonard, a prime source for Westerns before he turned to tales of crime and bottom-feeding opportunists, has resulted in cinematic riches ranging from "52 Pick-Up" and "Get Shorty", to "Out of Sight" and "Jackie Brown".
"The Big Bounce", culled from his 1969 novel, will never join the ranks of great Leonard screen adaptations. It's too loose and casual, all too willing to trade the writer's trademark wit and literary mischief for slapstick comedy. While its theatrical career will be short, its shelf life in video/DVD should be better. Late at night, when one craves undemanding, forgettable amusement, "The Big Bounce" should provide enough bounce to entertain.
Jack Ryan, a migrant worker with a flexible sense of morality and a penchant for getting into trouble, drifted through several of Leonard Early's crime novels, usually set in Leonard's hometown of Detroit or parts of rural Michigan. George Armitage, who has directed movies set in Michigan ("Grosse Point Blank") and tropical climes ("Miami Blues"), clearly prefers the latter. He and writer Sebastian Gutierrez transpose the story from a Michigan resort town to the North Shore of Hawaii's Oahu. This adds surfing, exotic scenery and a tropical decadence one associates with Somerset Maugham's short stories set in the South Seas. However, this tourist destination lacks the ambiance of a backwater community, where corruption and venality can easily flourish.
Owen Wilson plays Jack, who in the movie's opening sequence cold-cocks his foreman (Vinnie Jones) on a construction job with a baseball bat. When he gets out of jail 30 days later, Bob Jr. (Charlie Sheen), a flunky for the shady real estate developer Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise) who hired him, warns Jack to vanish from the island, advice Jack cheerfully ignores.
Surprisingly, a district judge (Morgan Freeman) offers Jack a job as caretaker for a seaside retreat he owns. As if this weren't enough of a lure to stay on, Jack spies Ray's mistress, Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster), a lithe, thrill-seeking beauty who specializes in breaking hearts and get-rich-quick schemes. Wisely, Jack doesn't trust her further than he can throw her. Unwisely, he is eager to gather her into his arms anyway.
"The Big Bounce" doesn't play out in the manner of current caper films. Leonard stories pay more attention to character and milieu and less to building to a heart-pounding climax. Sometimes things don't happen
other times, characters change their minds or see a setup coming before getting trapped.
Armitage plays this one for laughs. Clearly lacking any conviction or much interest in these characters, the director lets his actors goof around in their roles. Wilson and Foster trade quips and dares, dress and undress -- preferably after sneaking into houses or boats they believe to be unoccupied -- but never take the story seriously. Freeman ambles through the movie, giving his scenes no more energy than they deserve.
Sheen and Jones have funny moments as the villain's dumb and dumber assistants. Bebe Neuwirth is an inspired choice to give sass to the cliche of the alcoholic, disillusioned wife of the nasty developer. Meanwhile, Sinise is barely in the movie. Harry Dean Stanton and Willie Nelson drop by to lend scrappy charm to a scene or two. And whenever the action grows stale, which is all too frequently, Armitage cuts to surfers riding giant waves at Waimea or Turtle Bay.
Island melodies waft through George S. Clinton's bouncy score. Cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball and designer Stephen Altman emphasize the vivid colors and luxurious abodes in the still relatively unspoiled surfers' paradise.
THE BIG BOUNCE
Warner Bros. Pictures
Shangri-La Entertainment presents a Material Films production
Credits:
Director: George Armitage
Writer: Sebastian Gutierrez
Based on the novel by: Elmore Leonard
Producers: Steve Bing, Jorge Saralegui
Executive producers: Zane Weiner, Brent Armitage
Director of photography: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Production designer: Stephen Altman
Music: George S. Clinton
Costume designer: Betsy Cox
Editors: Brian Berdan, Barry Malkin.
Cast:
Jack Ryan: Owen Wilson
Walter Crewes: Morgan Freeman
Nancy Hayes: Sara Foster
Bob Jr.: Charlie Sheen
Ray Ritchie: Gary Sinise
Lou Harris: Vinnie Jones
Joe Lurie: Willie Nelson
Alison Ritchie: Bebe Neuwirth
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating PG-13 Kate Bosworth
Pete: Topher Grace
Tad Hamilton: Josh Duhamel
Richard Levy the Driven: Nathan Lane
Richard Levy the Shameless: Sean Hayes
Henry: Gary Cole
Cathy Feely: Ginnifer Goodwin
Angelica: Kathryn Hahn
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, Jan. 30
Hollywood's rediscovery of novelist Elmore Leonard, a prime source for Westerns before he turned to tales of crime and bottom-feeding opportunists, has resulted in cinematic riches ranging from "52 Pick-Up" and "Get Shorty", to "Out of Sight" and "Jackie Brown".
"The Big Bounce", culled from his 1969 novel, will never join the ranks of great Leonard screen adaptations. It's too loose and casual, all too willing to trade the writer's trademark wit and literary mischief for slapstick comedy. While its theatrical career will be short, its shelf life in video/DVD should be better. Late at night, when one craves undemanding, forgettable amusement, "The Big Bounce" should provide enough bounce to entertain.
Jack Ryan, a migrant worker with a flexible sense of morality and a penchant for getting into trouble, drifted through several of Leonard Early's crime novels, usually set in Leonard's hometown of Detroit or parts of rural Michigan. George Armitage, who has directed movies set in Michigan ("Grosse Point Blank") and tropical climes ("Miami Blues"), clearly prefers the latter. He and writer Sebastian Gutierrez transpose the story from a Michigan resort town to the North Shore of Hawaii's Oahu. This adds surfing, exotic scenery and a tropical decadence one associates with Somerset Maugham's short stories set in the South Seas. However, this tourist destination lacks the ambiance of a backwater community, where corruption and venality can easily flourish.
Owen Wilson plays Jack, who in the movie's opening sequence cold-cocks his foreman (Vinnie Jones) on a construction job with a baseball bat. When he gets out of jail 30 days later, Bob Jr. (Charlie Sheen), a flunky for the shady real estate developer Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise) who hired him, warns Jack to vanish from the island, advice Jack cheerfully ignores.
Surprisingly, a district judge (Morgan Freeman) offers Jack a job as caretaker for a seaside retreat he owns. As if this weren't enough of a lure to stay on, Jack spies Ray's mistress, Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster), a lithe, thrill-seeking beauty who specializes in breaking hearts and get-rich-quick schemes. Wisely, Jack doesn't trust her further than he can throw her. Unwisely, he is eager to gather her into his arms anyway.
"The Big Bounce" doesn't play out in the manner of current caper films. Leonard stories pay more attention to character and milieu and less to building to a heart-pounding climax. Sometimes things don't happen
other times, characters change their minds or see a setup coming before getting trapped.
Armitage plays this one for laughs. Clearly lacking any conviction or much interest in these characters, the director lets his actors goof around in their roles. Wilson and Foster trade quips and dares, dress and undress -- preferably after sneaking into houses or boats they believe to be unoccupied -- but never take the story seriously. Freeman ambles through the movie, giving his scenes no more energy than they deserve.
Sheen and Jones have funny moments as the villain's dumb and dumber assistants. Bebe Neuwirth is an inspired choice to give sass to the cliche of the alcoholic, disillusioned wife of the nasty developer. Meanwhile, Sinise is barely in the movie. Harry Dean Stanton and Willie Nelson drop by to lend scrappy charm to a scene or two. And whenever the action grows stale, which is all too frequently, Armitage cuts to surfers riding giant waves at Waimea or Turtle Bay.
Island melodies waft through George S. Clinton's bouncy score. Cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball and designer Stephen Altman emphasize the vivid colors and luxurious abodes in the still relatively unspoiled surfers' paradise.
THE BIG BOUNCE
Warner Bros. Pictures
Shangri-La Entertainment presents a Material Films production
Credits:
Director: George Armitage
Writer: Sebastian Gutierrez
Based on the novel by: Elmore Leonard
Producers: Steve Bing, Jorge Saralegui
Executive producers: Zane Weiner, Brent Armitage
Director of photography: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Production designer: Stephen Altman
Music: George S. Clinton
Costume designer: Betsy Cox
Editors: Brian Berdan, Barry Malkin.
Cast:
Jack Ryan: Owen Wilson
Walter Crewes: Morgan Freeman
Nancy Hayes: Sara Foster
Bob Jr.: Charlie Sheen
Ray Ritchie: Gary Sinise
Lou Harris: Vinnie Jones
Joe Lurie: Willie Nelson
Alison Ritchie: Bebe Neuwirth
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating PG-13 Kate Bosworth
Pete: Topher Grace
Tad Hamilton: Josh Duhamel
Richard Levy the Driven: Nathan Lane
Richard Levy the Shameless: Sean Hayes
Henry: Gary Cole
Cathy Feely: Ginnifer Goodwin
Angelica: Kathryn Hahn
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 1/30/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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