“Reverence,” an upcoming thriller from writer-director Kyle Kauwika Harris (“Out of Exile”), has started production in Oklahoma.
The film began principal photography this week, with a logline reading: “‘Reverence’ is a dark and moody missing person’s thriller about a traumatized father coming to terms with his violent military past, while searching for his missing daughter in a small, rural town. As police investigate, the circumstances around the case spiral out of control.”
“Reverence” stars Adam Hampton (“Out of Exile”), Whit Kunschick (“Country Gold”), Gattlin Griffith (“The Boys”), Connie Franklin (“Agent Jade Black”) and Ryan Francis (“Hook”). Jacob Ryan Snovel produces for SafeHouse Films with Kenny Pitts, Gared Reinke and Nicholas Clement. (Clement is a Variety contributor.) Jeremy Charles produces under Pursuit Films; Vahid Farzaneh and Kelley Gann produce under Freestyle Creative.
Harris, who is of Hawaiian descent and is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation, is known for...
The film began principal photography this week, with a logline reading: “‘Reverence’ is a dark and moody missing person’s thriller about a traumatized father coming to terms with his violent military past, while searching for his missing daughter in a small, rural town. As police investigate, the circumstances around the case spiral out of control.”
“Reverence” stars Adam Hampton (“Out of Exile”), Whit Kunschick (“Country Gold”), Gattlin Griffith (“The Boys”), Connie Franklin (“Agent Jade Black”) and Ryan Francis (“Hook”). Jacob Ryan Snovel produces for SafeHouse Films with Kenny Pitts, Gared Reinke and Nicholas Clement. (Clement is a Variety contributor.) Jeremy Charles produces under Pursuit Films; Vahid Farzaneh and Kelley Gann produce under Freestyle Creative.
Harris, who is of Hawaiian descent and is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation, is known for...
- 12/1/2023
- by Valerie Wu
- Variety Film + TV
The Bloody Disgusting-powered Screambox is home to a variety of unique horror content, from originals and exclusives to cult classics and documentaries. With such a rapidly-growing library, there are many hidden gems waiting to be discovered.
Here are five recommendations you can stream on Screambox right now.
Night of the Demon
Not to be confused with the 1957 film of the same name (also on Screambox), 1980’s Night of the Demon is an unforgettable Bigfoot experience. It’s no surprise that the gory exploitation flick was prosecuted as a “video nasty” by the British Board of Film Classification upon its initial release. It’s best remembered for a scene in which Bigfoot rips off a guy’s manhood — and that’s not even the most outrageous death scene!
The cheesefest plays like an early slasher, but instead of a masked killer lurking in the woods, it’s a guy in a cheap gorilla costume.
Here are five recommendations you can stream on Screambox right now.
Night of the Demon
Not to be confused with the 1957 film of the same name (also on Screambox), 1980’s Night of the Demon is an unforgettable Bigfoot experience. It’s no surprise that the gory exploitation flick was prosecuted as a “video nasty” by the British Board of Film Classification upon its initial release. It’s best remembered for a scene in which Bigfoot rips off a guy’s manhood — and that’s not even the most outrageous death scene!
The cheesefest plays like an early slasher, but instead of a masked killer lurking in the woods, it’s a guy in a cheap gorilla costume.
- 6/20/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Based on its setup, The New Daughter would appear to be a ghost story. A troubled novelist moves his two children into a large and isolated house in rural South Carolina, and immediately they start to experience things that cannot be so readily explained. The audience might soon expect to see spirits of the dead haunting the film’s family, yet the fact is, something else entirely lurks on this cursed property.
Kevin Costner was coming off positive reviews for his villainous role in the psychological thriller Mr. Brooks when he was cast as the father in The New Daughter. Also joining the first directorial feature from Rec screenwriter Luis Berdejo was Pan’s Labyrinth star Ivana Baquero. The talent behind this adaptation of author John Connolly’s short story piqued an interest at the time, but upon its release in 2009, critics largely panned the film, singling out the pacing, the...
Kevin Costner was coming off positive reviews for his villainous role in the psychological thriller Mr. Brooks when he was cast as the father in The New Daughter. Also joining the first directorial feature from Rec screenwriter Luis Berdejo was Pan’s Labyrinth star Ivana Baquero. The talent behind this adaptation of author John Connolly’s short story piqued an interest at the time, but upon its release in 2009, critics largely panned the film, singling out the pacing, the...
- 5/18/2023
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
Stars: Jay Pickett, Tom Skerritt, Mason McNulty, Gattlin Griffith, Callder Griffith, Cody Jones, Peter Facinelli | Written by Jerry Robbins | Directed by Michael Feifer
Westerns seem to be popping up all over the Dtv and VOD markets in the last year or so. From Hell on the Border, Righteous Blood and the upcoming Apache Junction to western/horror hybrids like The Pale Door and Skinwalker, it seems the Old West is new again. Catch the Bullet is a new one written by Jerry Robbins and directed by Michael Feifer. Should you catch it? Or dodge a bullet and watch something else?
Marshal Britt MacMaster, played by the late Jay Pickett and to whom the film is dedicated, has just gunned down a bank robber and his two accomplices. For the three months it took to track them, his father is watching his twelve-year-old son Chad.
When he finally returns he finds...
Westerns seem to be popping up all over the Dtv and VOD markets in the last year or so. From Hell on the Border, Righteous Blood and the upcoming Apache Junction to western/horror hybrids like The Pale Door and Skinwalker, it seems the Old West is new again. Catch the Bullet is a new one written by Jerry Robbins and directed by Michael Feifer. Should you catch it? Or dodge a bullet and watch something else?
Marshal Britt MacMaster, played by the late Jay Pickett and to whom the film is dedicated, has just gunned down a bank robber and his two accomplices. For the three months it took to track them, his father is watching his twelve-year-old son Chad.
When he finally returns he finds...
- 9/14/2021
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
"Let's play catch the bullet." Lionsgate has released an official trailer for a direct-to-dvd quality western called Catch the Bullet, from a filmmaker you've never heard of before named Michael Feifer (you don't want to look up the films he's made before this). The story sounds like pretty much every other western as well. A US Marshal, aided by an Indian scout and a bigoted town deputy, ride into hostile territory to rescue his kidnapped son from an outlaw gang lead by a psychopathic killer. I'm already bored just typing that out. Catch the Bullet co-stars the late Jay Pickett, who tragically passed away a few weeks ago at age 60 while filming Treasure Valley in Idaho. The film also stars Tom Skerritt, Peter Facinelli, Gattlin Griffith, Mason McNulty, and Tucson Vernon Walker. This is undoubtedly some direct-to-video junk, not only uninteresting but entirely derivative, with nothing much to offer besides...
- 8/10/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
“An Inventive, Poignant Modern Twist”– Fred Topel, Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Initiation arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD July 20 from Lionsgate. Check out the terrifying trailer:
Go back to school if you dare…. Murder is trending when Initiation arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD July 20 from Lionsgate. Social media turns sinister when Jon Huertas (TV’s “This Is Us”), Lochlyn Munro (The Predator), Isabella Gomez (TV’s “One Day at a Time”), Froy Gutierrez (TV’s “Teen Wolf”), Bart Johnson (High School Musical franchise), Yancy Butler (Kick-Ass franchise), and Gattlin Griffith (Changeling) try to survive pledge week in this fun slasher film. Initiation will be available on Blu-ray and DVD for the suggested retail price of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.
During a university’s pledge week, the carefree partying turns deadly serious when a star athlete is found impaled in his dorm. The murder ignites a spree of sinister social-media messages,...
Initiation arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD July 20 from Lionsgate. Check out the terrifying trailer:
Go back to school if you dare…. Murder is trending when Initiation arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD July 20 from Lionsgate. Social media turns sinister when Jon Huertas (TV’s “This Is Us”), Lochlyn Munro (The Predator), Isabella Gomez (TV’s “One Day at a Time”), Froy Gutierrez (TV’s “Teen Wolf”), Bart Johnson (High School Musical franchise), Yancy Butler (Kick-Ass franchise), and Gattlin Griffith (Changeling) try to survive pledge week in this fun slasher film. Initiation will be available on Blu-ray and DVD for the suggested retail price of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.
During a university’s pledge week, the carefree partying turns deadly serious when a star athlete is found impaled in his dorm. The murder ignites a spree of sinister social-media messages,...
- 7/19/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Here’s Kev with a video review of the brand-new slasher movie Initation, which is out now on DVD in the UK from Signature Entertainment. Also check out our written review here.
Whiton University unravels the night a star-athlete is murdered, kicking off a spree of social media slayings that force students to uncover the truth behind the school’s hidden secrets and the horrifying meaning of an exclamation point.
Initation stars Isabella Gomez, Lindsay Lavanchy, Froy Gutierrez, James Berardo, Gattlin Griffith, Adin Kolansky, Shireen Lai, Patrick R. Walker, Maxwell Hamilton, Bart Johnson, Jon Huertas, Kent Faulcon, Yancy Butler, Lochlyn Munro; and is directed by John Berardo.
Whiton University unravels the night a star-athlete is murdered, kicking off a spree of social media slayings that force students to uncover the truth behind the school’s hidden secrets and the horrifying meaning of an exclamation point.
Initation stars Isabella Gomez, Lindsay Lavanchy, Froy Gutierrez, James Berardo, Gattlin Griffith, Adin Kolansky, Shireen Lai, Patrick R. Walker, Maxwell Hamilton, Bart Johnson, Jon Huertas, Kent Faulcon, Yancy Butler, Lochlyn Munro; and is directed by John Berardo.
- 5/27/2021
- by Kevin Haldon
- Nerdly
Stars: Isabella Gomez, Lindsay Lavanchy, Froy Gutierrez, James Berardo, Gattlin Griffith, Adin Kolansky, Shireen Lai, Patrick R. Walker, Maxwell Hamilton, Bart Johnson, Jon Huertas, Kent Faulcon, Yancy Butler, Lochlyn Munro | Written by John Berardo, Lindsay Lavanchy, Brian Frager | Directed by John Berardo
During a university’s pledge week, the carefree partying turns deadly serious when a star athlete is found impaled in his dorm. The murder ignites a spree of sinister social-media messages, sweeping the students and police into a race against time to uncover the truth behind the school’s dark secrets and the horrifying meaning of a recurring symbol: a single exclamation mark…
From that generic slasher movie-like DVD cover audiences will probably be expecting your typical paint-by-numbers slasher movie. You know the type: masked killer hunts teens and offs them in grisly ways. In this case the teens are college students and yes, the killer does follow...
During a university’s pledge week, the carefree partying turns deadly serious when a star athlete is found impaled in his dorm. The murder ignites a spree of sinister social-media messages, sweeping the students and police into a race against time to uncover the truth behind the school’s dark secrets and the horrifying meaning of a recurring symbol: a single exclamation mark…
From that generic slasher movie-like DVD cover audiences will probably be expecting your typical paint-by-numbers slasher movie. You know the type: masked killer hunts teens and offs them in grisly ways. In this case the teens are college students and yes, the killer does follow...
- 5/21/2021
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
There is zero interest in the female victim of a sexual assault in this slasher movie that focuses more on the hunt for the perpetrator
Here’s a trashy, slashy horror movie that takes the issue of sexual assault on campus, removes a few layers of complexity and adds a masked serial killer armed with a power drill. It begins at a frat house party where alpha-scumbag Beau (Gattlin Griffith) sets his aim with sniper precision at Kylie (Isabella Gomez), the drunkest, most-eager-to-fit-in of the new sorority intake. Beau offers to take her to the upstairs bathroom; instead he guides her into his bedroom with another guy, Wes (Froy Gutierrez), and locks the door.
The next day Kylie tells sorority president Ellery (Lindsay Lavanchy) that she thinks she might have been assaulted. The frat boys tag her as a “slut” on social media. Ellery, a science major, takes the investigation...
Here’s a trashy, slashy horror movie that takes the issue of sexual assault on campus, removes a few layers of complexity and adds a masked serial killer armed with a power drill. It begins at a frat house party where alpha-scumbag Beau (Gattlin Griffith) sets his aim with sniper precision at Kylie (Isabella Gomez), the drunkest, most-eager-to-fit-in of the new sorority intake. Beau offers to take her to the upstairs bathroom; instead he guides her into his bedroom with another guy, Wes (Froy Gutierrez), and locks the door.
The next day Kylie tells sorority president Ellery (Lindsay Lavanchy) that she thinks she might have been assaulted. The frat boys tag her as a “slut” on social media. Ellery, a science major, takes the investigation...
- 5/18/2021
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
Watch the Short Film Goodnight Darling: "Two sisters wonder if their mother’s strange behavior is a response to a recent family loss, or if something more sinister is at work… “Goodnight Darling” is a horror film about the moment in childhood when we discover our parents aren’t the people we thought they were."
Credits: Adam Azimov, Director/Co-writer Isaac Cravit, Co-writer Pawel Pogorzelski, Editor/Composer Executive Producers: Geno Imbriale Vince Peone Cast: AnnaSophia Robb Vivien Lyra Blair Lauren Bowles April Lan
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Dark Spell: "On July 6, the spine-chilling supernatural horror thriller Dark Spell, directed by Svyatoslav Podgaevsky, will debut on major VOD and digital platforms and on DVD & Blu-ray™ from Shout! Studios and Scream Factory™. The DVD & Blu-ray™ will contain both the original Russian language audio track and an English-dubbed option. Pre-order for the physical releases are available now at ShoutFactory.com and other fine home entertainment retailers.
Credits: Adam Azimov, Director/Co-writer Isaac Cravit, Co-writer Pawel Pogorzelski, Editor/Composer Executive Producers: Geno Imbriale Vince Peone Cast: AnnaSophia Robb Vivien Lyra Blair Lauren Bowles April Lan
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Dark Spell: "On July 6, the spine-chilling supernatural horror thriller Dark Spell, directed by Svyatoslav Podgaevsky, will debut on major VOD and digital platforms and on DVD & Blu-ray™ from Shout! Studios and Scream Factory™. The DVD & Blu-ray™ will contain both the original Russian language audio track and an English-dubbed option. Pre-order for the physical releases are available now at ShoutFactory.com and other fine home entertainment retailers.
- 5/17/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
"If this were to spiral out of control..." Saban Films has released an official US trailer for the indie horror Initiation, the latest from director John Berardo (also of The Labyrinth). This premiered at the Sitges & Screamfest Film Festivals last fall, and it will be arriving on VOD this May. Whiton University unravels the night a star-athlete is found murdered in his dorm during pledge week, kicking off a spree of social media slayings that force the students to uncover the truth behind the school's hidden secrets and the horrifying meaning of an exclamation point. What does it all mean, Basil?! Lindsay Lavanchy (who also co-wrote the script) co-stars with Jon Huertas, Isabella Gomez, Froy Gutierrez, Gattlin Griffith, Patrick Walker, Bart Johnson, Shireen Lai, Kent Faulcon, Yancy Butler and Lochlyn Munro. This looks like some crazy campus serial killer horror, not so much any commentary on university culture. Check it out.
- 4/5/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A college campus becomes the hunting ground for a masked murderer in the official trailer and poster for the new slasher film Initiation, coming to theaters, On Demand, and Digital on May 7th from Saban Films.
Directed by John Berardo from a screenplay by Berardo, Brian Frager, and Lindsay Lavanchy, Initiation stars Jon Huertas, Isabella Gomez, Lindsay Lavanchy, Froy Gutierrez, Gattlin Griffith, Patrick Walker, Bart Johnson, Shireen Lai, Kent Faulcon, with Yancy Butler and Lochlyn Munro.
Synopsis: "During a university’s pledge week, the carefree partying turns deadly serious when a star athlete is found impaled in his dorm. The murder ignites a spree of sinister social-media messages, sweeping the students and police into a race against time to uncover the truth behind the school’s dark secrets…and the horrifying meaning of a recurring symbol: a single exclamation mark."
The post Watch the Official Trailer for Initiation appeared first on Daily Dead.
Directed by John Berardo from a screenplay by Berardo, Brian Frager, and Lindsay Lavanchy, Initiation stars Jon Huertas, Isabella Gomez, Lindsay Lavanchy, Froy Gutierrez, Gattlin Griffith, Patrick Walker, Bart Johnson, Shireen Lai, Kent Faulcon, with Yancy Butler and Lochlyn Munro.
Synopsis: "During a university’s pledge week, the carefree partying turns deadly serious when a star athlete is found impaled in his dorm. The murder ignites a spree of sinister social-media messages, sweeping the students and police into a race against time to uncover the truth behind the school’s dark secrets…and the horrifying meaning of a recurring symbol: a single exclamation mark."
The post Watch the Official Trailer for Initiation appeared first on Daily Dead.
- 3/26/2021
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Starring: Jon Huertas, Isabella Gomez, Lindsay Lavanchy, Froy Gutierrez, Gattlin Griffith, Patrick Walker, Bart Johnson, Shireen Lai, Kent Faulcon with Yancy Butler and Lochlyn Munro Directed By: John Berardo Written By: John Berardo, Brian Frager, Lindsay Lavanchy During a university’s pledge week, the carefree partying turns deadly serious when a star athlete is found impaled …
The post Official Trailer & Poster – Initiation Starring Jon Huertas, Isabella Gomez, Yancy Butler and Lochlyn Munro- Releasing May 7th appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
The post Official Trailer & Poster – Initiation Starring Jon Huertas, Isabella Gomez, Yancy Butler and Lochlyn Munro- Releasing May 7th appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
- 3/26/2021
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
Next month, the 2020 SXSW Film Festival kicks off in Austin, Texas, and this week, we finally have a look at the fest’s killer Midnighter slate, which includes one of this writer’s favorite films from Sundance, Natalie Erika James’ Relic. The 2020 lineup also features another Sundance 2020 title, Run Sweetheart Run, as well the latest from filmmaker Natasha Kermani (who recently helmed Imitation Girl), entitled Lucky, and The Void co-director Steven Kostanski’s latest gore-fest, PG (Psycho Goreman).
Other featured Midnighters include Dembanger from John Berardo, Elle Callahan’s Witch Hunt, The Vigil from writer/director Keith Thomas, and the Belgian zombie flick, Yummy. Check out the full rundown to see all of this year’s Midnighters, which will play during SXSW 2020 this March.
Dembanger
Director: John Berardo, Screenwriters: John Berardo, Lindsay Lavanchy, Brian Frager
Ellery Scott's world unravels when her star athlete brother is murdered on campus amidst a brewing scandal,...
Other featured Midnighters include Dembanger from John Berardo, Elle Callahan’s Witch Hunt, The Vigil from writer/director Keith Thomas, and the Belgian zombie flick, Yummy. Check out the full rundown to see all of this year’s Midnighters, which will play during SXSW 2020 this March.
Dembanger
Director: John Berardo, Screenwriters: John Berardo, Lindsay Lavanchy, Brian Frager
Ellery Scott's world unravels when her star athlete brother is murdered on campus amidst a brewing scandal,...
- 2/6/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
The annual South by Southwest Conference and Festival is known for having a lineup of programming that makes Austin bust at the seams — and its slate for the 27th edition of the film festival isn’t any different. After already unveiling its initial roster of films, SXSW has now announced its lineup of Midnighters, Festival Favorites, Shorts, Episodic Pilots, Special Events and more.
SXSW Midnighters section is a favorite among festival-goers as it includes weird, electric, and sometimes terrifying selection of titles. Featuring 10 genre films, the Midnighters slate includes an array of dark comedies, thrillers, sci-fi, mystery and slasher pics with a mix of established and first-time filmmakers. With Midnighters and addition of Festival Favorites as well as 10 additional film, the SXSW Film Festival now has a robust 135 total features on its slate.
SXSW runs March 13-22. Below you can read additions to the 2020 SXSW Film Festival lineup. You can...
SXSW Midnighters section is a favorite among festival-goers as it includes weird, electric, and sometimes terrifying selection of titles. Featuring 10 genre films, the Midnighters slate includes an array of dark comedies, thrillers, sci-fi, mystery and slasher pics with a mix of established and first-time filmmakers. With Midnighters and addition of Festival Favorites as well as 10 additional film, the SXSW Film Festival now has a robust 135 total features on its slate.
SXSW runs March 13-22. Below you can read additions to the 2020 SXSW Film Festival lineup. You can...
- 2/5/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
After unveiling its first lineup of feature film offerings last month, the SXSW Film Festival is rolling out more additions to its 2020 program. The annual Texas festival has already announced its features and episodic premieres, and now those picks are joined by Midnighters, Festival Favorites, Shorts, and Special Events, plus late-addition features and the full list of Episodic Pilot Competition shows.
This year’s program has 135 Feature Films, including 99 world premieres, nine North American premieres, five U.S. Premieres, 75 films from first-time filmmakers, and 119 short films. The lineup also features music videos, episodic premieres, pilots, special events, and Vr projects.
Today’s announcement sees additions to nearly every section of the feature film lineup, including the popular Midnighters section. Standouts include there Shana Feste’s “Run Sweetheart Run” and Natalie Erick James’ “Relic,” both of which premiered at Sundance in January, along with the U.S. premiere of Keith Thomas...
This year’s program has 135 Feature Films, including 99 world premieres, nine North American premieres, five U.S. Premieres, 75 films from first-time filmmakers, and 119 short films. The lineup also features music videos, episodic premieres, pilots, special events, and Vr projects.
Today’s announcement sees additions to nearly every section of the feature film lineup, including the popular Midnighters section. Standouts include there Shana Feste’s “Run Sweetheart Run” and Natalie Erick James’ “Relic,” both of which premiered at Sundance in January, along with the U.S. premiere of Keith Thomas...
- 2/5/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The SXSW festival has announced its program for the Midnighters, Festival Favorites, Shorts, Special Events, Episodic Pilot Competition, and late addition Features for its 2020 film festival.
This year’s program has 135 feature films, including 99 world premieres, 9 North American premieres, 5 U.S. premieres, and 75 films from first-time filmmakers. The SXSW Midnighters section is a favorite for festival attendees who like the weird, electric and terrifying selections. It includes dark comedies, thrillers and slasher horror.
“Programming the Midnighters section this year felt especially invigorating,” Jarod Neece, SXSW Senior Film Programmer, said. “The filmmaking teams, while particularly diverse, all seem to be using their films as a cathartic lens to view the modern-day world. One trend we noticed was the presence of a strong female protagonist fighting off everything from hordes of zombies, bad dates, creepy rideshare drivers and supernatural forces. As always, genre filmmaking can be found throughout the SXSW program, and...
This year’s program has 135 feature films, including 99 world premieres, 9 North American premieres, 5 U.S. premieres, and 75 films from first-time filmmakers. The SXSW Midnighters section is a favorite for festival attendees who like the weird, electric and terrifying selections. It includes dark comedies, thrillers and slasher horror.
“Programming the Midnighters section this year felt especially invigorating,” Jarod Neece, SXSW Senior Film Programmer, said. “The filmmaking teams, while particularly diverse, all seem to be using their films as a cathartic lens to view the modern-day world. One trend we noticed was the presence of a strong female protagonist fighting off everything from hordes of zombies, bad dates, creepy rideshare drivers and supernatural forces. As always, genre filmmaking can be found throughout the SXSW program, and...
- 2/5/2020
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"The Good Lie"
Although Reese Witherspoon's face is on all the posters, the real stars of "The Good Lie" are the actors who portray young survivors of the brutal civil war in Sudan. Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, and Emmanuel Jal star as the Sudanese "Lost Boys" who start a new life in Kansas City, Mo. Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar") directed the movie, based on a script by Margaret Nagle ("Boardwalk Empire").
"Pride"
Critics loved this crowd-pleasing film based on a true story about two disparate groups who come together in solidarity during Margaret Thatcher's term as Pm. Lgbt activists are trying to raise money to support the families of striking miners, but they're not having any success. Eventually, the group,...
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"The Good Lie"
Although Reese Witherspoon's face is on all the posters, the real stars of "The Good Lie" are the actors who portray young survivors of the brutal civil war in Sudan. Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, and Emmanuel Jal star as the Sudanese "Lost Boys" who start a new life in Kansas City, Mo. Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar") directed the movie, based on a script by Margaret Nagle ("Boardwalk Empire").
"Pride"
Critics loved this crowd-pleasing film based on a true story about two disparate groups who come together in solidarity during Margaret Thatcher's term as Pm. Lgbt activists are trying to raise money to support the families of striking miners, but they're not having any success. Eventually, the group,...
- 12/22/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week
"Escape from Tomorrow"
What's It About? A trip to the House of Mouse becomes a surreal nightmare for a father of two.
Why We're In: Filmed secretly on location at Disney World and Disneyland, "Escape from Tomorrow" is creepier than "It's a Small World."
Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week
"Il Sorpasso" (Criterion)
What's It About? A wild bachelor and an uptight law student go on a road trip for the ages in this adored Italian comedy.
Why We're In: It's been spiffed up and digitally restored, and even the subtitles got a makeover. Plus, there are all the Criterion bells and whistles we know and love.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Bad Country"
What's It About? Willem Dafoe and Matt Dillon star as a cop and a criminal who are forced to work together to bring down an even bigger baddie. Neal McDonough,...
"Escape from Tomorrow"
What's It About? A trip to the House of Mouse becomes a surreal nightmare for a father of two.
Why We're In: Filmed secretly on location at Disney World and Disneyland, "Escape from Tomorrow" is creepier than "It's a Small World."
Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week
"Il Sorpasso" (Criterion)
What's It About? A wild bachelor and an uptight law student go on a road trip for the ages in this adored Italian comedy.
Why We're In: It's been spiffed up and digitally restored, and even the subtitles got a makeover. Plus, there are all the Criterion bells and whistles we know and love.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Bad Country"
What's It About? Willem Dafoe and Matt Dillon star as a cop and a criminal who are forced to work together to bring down an even bigger baddie. Neal McDonough,...
- 4/30/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
Labor Day Blu-ray Labor Day is a quiet movie about an extraordinary event that occurs as a young man is growing up and finding his way in the world. It.s a lonely movie, about a mother and her son who feel very out of tune with the rest of the world and who inexplicably begin to awaken once a stranger enters their lives. We.re introduced to Henry Wheeler (Gattlin Griffith) through a lovely sequence narrated by Tobey Maguire that explains the young man.s relationship with his mother, Adele (Kate Winslet). Henry.s father, Gerald (Clark Gregg), left some time prior to the events of the film to start a new family. Because of this, Henry has taken on many of the traditional male household roles. When a known fugitive named Frank (Josh Brolin) enters their lives, his appearance during Labor Day weekend offers a breath of fresh...
- 4/30/2014
- cinemablend.com
Jason Reitman's winning run comes to a halt with this sickly tale of an escaped convict helping out at Kate Winslet's house
Jason Reitman has directed some acerbic comedies, notably Up in the Air and the gloriously misanthropic Young Adult. Labor Day shows his soft, sweet side – as soft, sweet and indeed squidgy as the pies that figure prominently. Kate Winslet is depressed small-town divorcee Adele, whose home is chosen one summer as a hideout by an escaped convict. As it turns out, Josh Brolin's Frank is a tender, decent fugitive and a solicitous pair of hands around the house – doing repairs, playing surrogate dad to Adele's teenage son (Gattlin Griffith) and preaching the therapeutic value of pie-making in a scene that's bound to be spoofed for years to come.
The initial Hitchcockian tension soon slackens into slop, with a dash of lukewarm eroticism. A quality cast rises above the pulpiness,...
Jason Reitman has directed some acerbic comedies, notably Up in the Air and the gloriously misanthropic Young Adult. Labor Day shows his soft, sweet side – as soft, sweet and indeed squidgy as the pies that figure prominently. Kate Winslet is depressed small-town divorcee Adele, whose home is chosen one summer as a hideout by an escaped convict. As it turns out, Josh Brolin's Frank is a tender, decent fugitive and a solicitous pair of hands around the house – doing repairs, playing surrogate dad to Adele's teenage son (Gattlin Griffith) and preaching the therapeutic value of pie-making in a scene that's bound to be spoofed for years to come.
The initial Hitchcockian tension soon slackens into slop, with a dash of lukewarm eroticism. A quality cast rises above the pulpiness,...
- 3/23/2014
- by Jonathan Romney
- The Guardian - Film News
Adapting the novel of the same name from Joyce Maynard, Labor Day sees writer/director Jason Reitman delivers a movie far removed from the comedy dramas, such as Thank You for Smoking, Juno, and Up in the Air, that made his name. This is pretty much a slow burn, a beautifully shot, and heart breaking, coming of age story about 13 year old Henry Wheeler (Gattlin Griffith), juggling the perils of puberty with caring for his recently divorced mother Adele (Kate Winslet), who has fallen into a deep depression. One fateful Labor Day weekend in 1987, escaped convict Frank Chambers (Josh Brolin) comes into their lives, and turns them upside down. From a narrative point of view, Labor Day emulates the feel of a lazy holiday weekend, slow with nothing much happening, save for some brief flashes of activity. It is an exquisitely shot movie, Reitman capturing the beauty of the New Hampshire setting with every frame,...
- 3/22/2014
- by noreply@blogger.com (Tom White)
- www.themoviebit.com
Starred Up | Labor Day | Yves Saint Laurent | Gbf | The Robber | The Machine | Salvo | The Unknown Known | A Long Way Down
Starred Up (18)
(David Mackenzie, 2013, UK) Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend. 106 mins
We've seen enough prison movies to know the drill, but this is closer to A Prophet than The Great Escape – a bracing mix of brutal thriller, institutional critique and complex character drama. Conviction is key, both in the day-to-day details and the natural performances, particularly O'Connell – a young offender violent enough to be housed with the grown-ups, including his own father. It feels like things could kick off with every scene.
Labor Day (12A)
(Jason Reitman, 2013, Us) Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith. 111 mins
The Juno director tries nuanced domestic drama – and it doesn't really suit him. Erotic tremors are a given when Brolin's escaped convict shacks up with Winslet's lonely single mum, but you'll need to park your disbelief.
Starred Up (18)
(David Mackenzie, 2013, UK) Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend. 106 mins
We've seen enough prison movies to know the drill, but this is closer to A Prophet than The Great Escape – a bracing mix of brutal thriller, institutional critique and complex character drama. Conviction is key, both in the day-to-day details and the natural performances, particularly O'Connell – a young offender violent enough to be housed with the grown-ups, including his own father. It feels like things could kick off with every scene.
Labor Day (12A)
(Jason Reitman, 2013, Us) Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith. 111 mins
The Juno director tries nuanced domestic drama – and it doesn't really suit him. Erotic tremors are a given when Brolin's escaped convict shacks up with Winslet's lonely single mum, but you'll need to park your disbelief.
- 3/22/2014
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Jason Reitman takes a holiday from his normally sophisticated wit in this bizarrely unconvincing film
After excellent movies such as Juno and Young Adult, Jason Reitman has given us a misstep. Actually, it's more like a pratfall. Labor Day is a glossy, cloying nullity of a film, supposedly a "coming-of-age" tale, though the teen character is disconcertingly peripheral to the adult drama, and his personal development is entirely without interest.
Labor Day lacks this film-maker's usual sophisticated wit: it is bizarrely unconvincing, sugary and humourless, like a Walt Disney version of The Night of the Hunter.
Gattlin Griffith plays Henry, a boy who, back in the 1980s, lives with his depressed, divorced mom, Adele, played by Kate Winslet. Out shopping one day, they are effectively kidnapped by Frank (Josh Brolin), an escaped criminal. While laying low in their house, Frank does a few odd jobs, gains their trust, then morphs...
After excellent movies such as Juno and Young Adult, Jason Reitman has given us a misstep. Actually, it's more like a pratfall. Labor Day is a glossy, cloying nullity of a film, supposedly a "coming-of-age" tale, though the teen character is disconcertingly peripheral to the adult drama, and his personal development is entirely without interest.
Labor Day lacks this film-maker's usual sophisticated wit: it is bizarrely unconvincing, sugary and humourless, like a Walt Disney version of The Night of the Hunter.
Gattlin Griffith plays Henry, a boy who, back in the 1980s, lives with his depressed, divorced mom, Adele, played by Kate Winslet. Out shopping one day, they are effectively kidnapped by Frank (Josh Brolin), an escaped criminal. While laying low in their house, Frank does a few odd jobs, gains their trust, then morphs...
- 3/21/2014
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Divorced mom Adele (Kate Winslet) thinks she's found love again when escaped convict Frank (Josh Brolin) unexpectedly enters her life. Initially feeling threatened, she offers him sanctuary while out on a shopping trip with her 14-year-old son Henry (Gattlin Griffith). However, when he helps out around the house, shows an interest in her boy and shows her how to bake the perfect pie, she begins to reassess her feelings towards him.
- 3/21/2014
- Sky Movies
Director: Jason Reitman; Screenwriter: Jason Reitman; Starring: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, Jk Simmons; Running time: 111 mins; Certificate: 12A
Despite getting a critical hammering in the States, it turns out that romantic drama Labor Day isn't all that bad. As the respective hostage taker and his captive homemaker, Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet may seem like a bad match on paper, but they each take a sincere approach - inspired by characters who have little to lose - and this creates a bond that helps tie the film together.
Otherwise, adapting the novel by Joyce Maynard feels like it may have been hard work for writer/director Jason Reitman. It's new ground for the man behind Juno, Up in the Air, Young Adult and Thank You For Smoking - films where an edge of cynicism helps cut through the sentimentalism. In this case, Reitman appears to be angling for the sultry,...
Despite getting a critical hammering in the States, it turns out that romantic drama Labor Day isn't all that bad. As the respective hostage taker and his captive homemaker, Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet may seem like a bad match on paper, but they each take a sincere approach - inspired by characters who have little to lose - and this creates a bond that helps tie the film together.
Otherwise, adapting the novel by Joyce Maynard feels like it may have been hard work for writer/director Jason Reitman. It's new ground for the man behind Juno, Up in the Air, Young Adult and Thank You For Smoking - films where an edge of cynicism helps cut through the sentimentalism. In this case, Reitman appears to be angling for the sultry,...
- 3/20/2014
- Digital Spy
The Labor Day star's past as a Hollywood brat featured more than his share of drugs, booze and tattoos. How much did he draw on his own history in his portrayal of fugitive killer Frank?
Labor Day spins the story of Frank, an escaped convict who gatecrashes suburbia and proceeds to cook a peach cobbler to die for. "Let's put a roof on this house," says Frank, up to his muscled forearms in flour, as he prepares to add the pastry to the filling. Labor Day, it should be noted, is not a film to skimp on its metaphors. The peach cobbler represents the tumbledown family home, sad and broken and in need of repair. No doubt it also represents Frank, whose crusty exterior contains a warm, gooey centre. Perhaps it even says something about the actor who plays him too.
If you're looking for the classic outsider on the inside,...
Labor Day spins the story of Frank, an escaped convict who gatecrashes suburbia and proceeds to cook a peach cobbler to die for. "Let's put a roof on this house," says Frank, up to his muscled forearms in flour, as he prepares to add the pastry to the filling. Labor Day, it should be noted, is not a film to skimp on its metaphors. The peach cobbler represents the tumbledown family home, sad and broken and in need of repair. No doubt it also represents Frank, whose crusty exterior contains a warm, gooey centre. Perhaps it even says something about the actor who plays him too.
If you're looking for the classic outsider on the inside,...
- 3/14/2014
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
This Kate Winslet-starring, wholly unconvincing tale of a fugitive who turns out to be husband material is pure housewives' kitsch
All the signs pointed to Labor Day being a failure: the shamefaced January release, the place where Hollywood buries its dead; the trailers that laboriously gave away its entire story; a unanimous critical pile-on reminiscent of a biker stomping; and the presence at the helm and behind the typewriter of over-promoted adapter-director Jason Reitman, proof positive of the tyranny of good taste.
Based on a novel by Joyce Maynard (who also wrote To Die For), Labor Day gives us Adele, a depressed, agoraphobic single mother (Kate Winslet), seen from the perspective of her devoted 13-year-old son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) via a fatal overdose of portentous voiceover by Tobey Maguire as the adult Henry. At the supermarket they're accosted by an injured man who's just escaped from a prison hospital after an appendectomy.
All the signs pointed to Labor Day being a failure: the shamefaced January release, the place where Hollywood buries its dead; the trailers that laboriously gave away its entire story; a unanimous critical pile-on reminiscent of a biker stomping; and the presence at the helm and behind the typewriter of over-promoted adapter-director Jason Reitman, proof positive of the tyranny of good taste.
Based on a novel by Joyce Maynard (who also wrote To Die For), Labor Day gives us Adele, a depressed, agoraphobic single mother (Kate Winslet), seen from the perspective of her devoted 13-year-old son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) via a fatal overdose of portentous voiceover by Tobey Maguire as the adult Henry. At the supermarket they're accosted by an injured man who's just escaped from a prison hospital after an appendectomy.
- 2/24/2014
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
March 7, 2014
300: Rise of an Empire
Director: Noam Munro
Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Rodrigo Santoro, Eva Green
Running time: 102 mins
Certificate 15
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton
Running time: 99 mins
Certificate 15
Paranoia
Director: Robert Luketic
Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman, Harrison Ford
Running time: 106 mins
Certificate 12
The Stag
Director: John Butler
Starring: Andrew Scott, Hugh O'Conor, Peter McDonald
Running time: 94 mins
Certificate 15
March 14, 2014
Need for Speed
Director: Scott Waugh
Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Scott Mescudi
Running time: 130 mins
Certificate 12A
Under the Skin
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Paul Brannigan
Running time: 108 mins
Certificate 15
Veronica Mars
Director: Rob Thomas
Starring: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni
Running time: 110 mins
Certificate Tbc
The Zero Theorem
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Thierry, David Thewlis
Running time: 107 mins
Certificate 15
March 21, 2014
About Last Night
Director: Steve Pink
Starring: Kevin Hart,...
300: Rise of an Empire
Director: Noam Munro
Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Rodrigo Santoro, Eva Green
Running time: 102 mins
Certificate 15
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton
Running time: 99 mins
Certificate 15
Paranoia
Director: Robert Luketic
Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman, Harrison Ford
Running time: 106 mins
Certificate 12
The Stag
Director: John Butler
Starring: Andrew Scott, Hugh O'Conor, Peter McDonald
Running time: 94 mins
Certificate 15
March 14, 2014
Need for Speed
Director: Scott Waugh
Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Scott Mescudi
Running time: 130 mins
Certificate 12A
Under the Skin
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Paul Brannigan
Running time: 108 mins
Certificate 15
Veronica Mars
Director: Rob Thomas
Starring: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni
Running time: 110 mins
Certificate Tbc
The Zero Theorem
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Thierry, David Thewlis
Running time: 107 mins
Certificate 15
March 21, 2014
About Last Night
Director: Steve Pink
Starring: Kevin Hart,...
- 2/18/2014
- Digital Spy
Kate Winslet & Josh Brolin star in Labor Day, directed by Jason Reitman. Wamg is giving away Run-of-Engagement passes to celebrate this Valentine’s Day Weekend!
If you live in the St. Louis area, all you have to do is enter your name, email address, along with the name of your favorite romantic film, in our comments section below for a chance to win. We will contact you if you are a winner.
No purchase necessary.
Additionally, Cinemark Holdings announces a special ticket offer exclusively at participating Cinemark locations across the U.S.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day weekend, Cinemark is offering a free admission to see Paramount Pictures and Indian Paintbrush’s Labor Day with the purchase of a Labor Day ticket. This offer is valid only from Friday, February 14 through Monday, February 17, 2014 with the presentation of a special online coupon.
Beginning Friday the 14th, the buy one,...
If you live in the St. Louis area, all you have to do is enter your name, email address, along with the name of your favorite romantic film, in our comments section below for a chance to win. We will contact you if you are a winner.
No purchase necessary.
Additionally, Cinemark Holdings announces a special ticket offer exclusively at participating Cinemark locations across the U.S.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day weekend, Cinemark is offering a free admission to see Paramount Pictures and Indian Paintbrush’s Labor Day with the purchase of a Labor Day ticket. This offer is valid only from Friday, February 14 through Monday, February 17, 2014 with the presentation of a special online coupon.
Beginning Friday the 14th, the buy one,...
- 2/13/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Title: Labor Day Director: Jason Reitman Starring: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, Clark Gregg, Brooke Smith, James Van Der Beek, Maika Monroe, Alexie Gilmore Four times Academy Award nominee, Jason Reitman, after having portrayed delightfully poignant and irreverent stories, such as ‘Thank You For Smoking,’ ‘Juno,’ ‘Up in the Air’ and Young Adult,’ delivers an intensely suave adaptation of the novel ‘Labor Day’ by Joyce Maynard. It is the very Labor Day weekend that is bound to mark the lives of Adele (Kate Winslet) – a divorced, single mother who rarely ventures further than her house – and her judicious thirteen year old son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith/Tobey [ Read More ]
The post Labor Day Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Labor Day Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 2/2/2014
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
Now that you've seen it, what did you think? Adapted from Joyce Maynard's bestselling novel, Jason Reitman's latest work, the fifth feature film he's directed, is Labor Day. The film stars Josh Brolin as a drifter along with Kate Winslet plus Gattlin Griffith as her son. It first premiered at film festivals in late 2013, but is now in wide release from Paramount. Check your local listings to see this film in theaters. So how is it? After Juno, Up in the Air and Young Adult, is one of Reitman's better films? How are Winslet and Brolin together? If you've seen it, leave a comment with your own thoughts on Jason Reitman's Labor Day. Spoiler Warning: We strongly urge everyone to actually see the film before reading ahead, as there may be spoilers below. We also encourage all commenters to keep major spoilers from the film to a minimum,...
- 1/31/2014
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The steady stream of Oscar prestige movies has finally cooled, so with the end of an era come two last-minute Academy shut-outs, "Labor Day" and "Tim's Vermeer," as well as a romantic comedy for the guys, "That Awkward Moment." Trailers below. Jason Reitman's Joyce Maynard adaptation "Labor Day" intercuts several plots and narrators in different time frames to reveal the back stories behind depressed Adele (Kate Winslet) living in New England solitude with her 12-year-old son Henry (Gattlin Griffith). On an outing to the store, the mother and son are commandeered by a threatening escaped prisoner (Josh Brolin). Reitman takes us on a ride that never flags and often surprises with real emotion, and Winslet gives a delicately sensual performance. Fair to say it's being creamed by mostly male critics. Clearly, this relationship drama plays better for women than men. A fascinating look at one genius inventor's obsession with...
- 1/31/2014
- by Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Labor Day
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Cast: Gattlin Griffith, Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Clark Gregg
Running Time: 1 hr 51 mins
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: January 31, 2014
Plot: Set in a quiet New Hampshire town, Labor Day is the story of single mom Adele (Winslet), her son Henry (Griffith), and Frank (Brolin), a fugitive that the two initially house against their will. As they begin to see more of his true character, he starts to fill in the role of husband and father.
Who’S It For? Those curious about a less usual kind of romance or coming-of-age story.
Read our interview with ‘Labor Day’ author Joyce Maynard
Overall
Labor Day is certainly a change of shade for writer/director Jason Reitman, who previously unearthed the humor in his American character dramas, however dark their content (such as with the dark but funny soul erosion of Charlize Theron’s non-matured mean girl in...
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Cast: Gattlin Griffith, Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Clark Gregg
Running Time: 1 hr 51 mins
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: January 31, 2014
Plot: Set in a quiet New Hampshire town, Labor Day is the story of single mom Adele (Winslet), her son Henry (Griffith), and Frank (Brolin), a fugitive that the two initially house against their will. As they begin to see more of his true character, he starts to fill in the role of husband and father.
Who’S It For? Those curious about a less usual kind of romance or coming-of-age story.
Read our interview with ‘Labor Day’ author Joyce Maynard
Overall
Labor Day is certainly a change of shade for writer/director Jason Reitman, who previously unearthed the humor in his American character dramas, however dark their content (such as with the dark but funny soul erosion of Charlize Theron’s non-matured mean girl in...
- 1/31/2014
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Whenever I hear mention of writer/director Jason Reitman's work, I instantly think of this formula: awkward, lonely lead character + quirky and slightly unrealistic story premise = a somewhat enduring dramady of a film. When I saw the opening credits for Labor Day, I actually let out some bizarre open-mouthed gasp because I didn't realize he had written and directed it -- I'd clearly done my research in advance.
I was waiting to meet the outspoken lead, the one who is cool on the outside but incredibly lost and confused on the inside. It was a great surprise to instead encounter Adele (Kate Winslet), a single mother trying to raise her 13-year-old son Henry (Gattlin Griffith). We meet these two some years after Henry's father has left them, trying to cope with Adele's social anxiety and fear of the outside world. Henry feels the burden of being the only man in the house,...
I was waiting to meet the outspoken lead, the one who is cool on the outside but incredibly lost and confused on the inside. It was a great surprise to instead encounter Adele (Kate Winslet), a single mother trying to raise her 13-year-old son Henry (Gattlin Griffith). We meet these two some years after Henry's father has left them, trying to cope with Adele's social anxiety and fear of the outside world. Henry feels the burden of being the only man in the house,...
- 1/31/2014
- by Marcelena Mayhorn
- Slackerwood
Are you heading to the movies this weekend? We've got you covered! Our take on the new releases: Labor Day is every bit as gooey a romance as you've heard, but it still works - thanks, in part, to its stars, Oscar winner Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. On the other hand, Zac Efron's romantic comedy That Awkward Moment can't quite get over itself - though it does have its moments ... and its merits. Plus, why you should check out this year's Oscar-nominated shorts. See This:Labor Day var brightcovevideoid = '3132464550001'; What is it about bad romance that feels so good?...
- 1/31/2014
- by Alynda Wheat and Patrick Gomez
- PEOPLE.com
Jason Reitman is a filmmaker in love with relationships. Whether its a young pregnant woman's relationship with the couple who will adopt her unborn child or the relationship between a young adult writer and the people that she utterly despises, these connections are the driving force behind his films' respective emotions. Labor Day, his latest, is right in line with the rest. In terms of the driving force, that is. The results are varied, but a pair of powerhouse performances keeps Labor Day from being the too-simple-with-too-much-saccharine film it threatens to be. Trashy at times, very messy at others, it's a bag of mixed results, all the while wanting nothing more than to have tears streaming down your face. Read on! Reitman adapted the story from Joyce Maynard's novel of the same name. Set in 1987, it tells of the weekend that changed the lives of young Henry Wheeler (Gattlin Griffith) and his single mother,...
- 1/31/2014
- by Jeremy Kirk
- firstshowing.net
Typically, it’s not considered savvy to open a movie on Super Bowl weekend, what with more than 100 million spending their Sunday afternoon on their sofa, eating nachos, guac, and buffalo wings in front of the Big Game. But Jason Reitman’s Labor Day might qualify as counter-programming. Based on Joyce Maynard’s 2009 novel, the film tells the melodramatic story of a fragile divorcee (Kate Winslet) whose rare excursion out of her house and into town with her 13-year-old son (Gattlin Griffith) is hijacked by an escaped fugitive (Josh Brolin) who demands refuge. But while he looks threatening, he’s a mild soul,...
- 1/31/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
You'll see Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin in many more fine movies, but you'll never look at pie quite the same way again
No actress of modern times has subjected matrimony to more vigorous onscreen interrogation than Kate Winslet. What began in a fit of melodrama, with Winslet threatening to throw herself from the aft of the Titanic rather than face loveless marriage to caddish Billy Zane, has turned into a series of fine-grained portraits – in Little Children, Revolutionary Road, Mildred Pierce – of suburban drudges, marooned in their marriages, doomed by their intelligence, staring at the dust motes.
Her happy marriage to Alan Rickman at end of Sense & Sensibility is beginning to look like the joker in the pack. Winslet's early performances fizzed like firecrackers, giddy with their own freedom, but now she dulls her own innate brightness to play American Madame Bovaries. Then she sets something loose in their...
No actress of modern times has subjected matrimony to more vigorous onscreen interrogation than Kate Winslet. What began in a fit of melodrama, with Winslet threatening to throw herself from the aft of the Titanic rather than face loveless marriage to caddish Billy Zane, has turned into a series of fine-grained portraits – in Little Children, Revolutionary Road, Mildred Pierce – of suburban drudges, marooned in their marriages, doomed by their intelligence, staring at the dust motes.
Her happy marriage to Alan Rickman at end of Sense & Sensibility is beginning to look like the joker in the pack. Winslet's early performances fizzed like firecrackers, giddy with their own freedom, but now she dulls her own innate brightness to play American Madame Bovaries. Then she sets something loose in their...
- 1/31/2014
- by Tom Shone
- The Guardian - Film News
I don't know where to begin with Jason Reitman's Labor Day. Adapted from the novel by Joyce Maynard, you could have told me it was a Nicholas Sparks adaptation, directed by Lasse Hallstrom and I wouldn't have second guessed the statement. I can't tell if Reitman is having fun with his audience and has actually made a parody of a Sparks adaptation or if he takes this schlock seriously. Either way, it doesn't work. To begin, Labor Day has something of an identity crisis as it's unsure which character it wants to focus on. The voice over that introduces the film is read by Tobey Maguire playing an older Henry Wheeler, the young 13-year-old (Gattlin Griffith) seen throughout the entirety of the film, and son to Adele (Kate Winslet), a woman that has retreated within herself forcing Henry to be the man of the house. Adele was left by...
- 1/31/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Chicago – There is a real power when the right filmmaker connects with the right performers. What appears on the surface to be a slight and well-worn story, gains a decided psychological edge. ‘Labor Day’ features Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, and writer/director Jason Reitman.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The story – adapted from a novel by Joyce Maynard – is about a convict kidnapping a single mom and son after a prison break. In keeping them in place as he hides out, a relationship develops between the lonely matriarch and the escaped prisoner. This theme has been explored before, but Reitman takes it to another level of resolve. The underlying mood and tension involving the emerging adolescence of the captured boy, the break in the psychosis of the newly paired lovers and the overriding feeling that they might be caught at any moment creates a tension that raises the narrative stakes.
Adele (Kate Winslet...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The story – adapted from a novel by Joyce Maynard – is about a convict kidnapping a single mom and son after a prison break. In keeping them in place as he hides out, a relationship develops between the lonely matriarch and the escaped prisoner. This theme has been explored before, but Reitman takes it to another level of resolve. The underlying mood and tension involving the emerging adolescence of the captured boy, the break in the psychosis of the newly paired lovers and the overriding feeling that they might be caught at any moment creates a tension that raises the narrative stakes.
Adele (Kate Winslet...
- 1/31/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Jason Reitman’s tremulous romantic drama Labor Day is an unintentional howl — a party movie begging for an audience armed with pie crusts, ropes, and a mean streak. It’s so terrible it’s amazing.The film is based on a Joyce Maynard novel, a wet Oedipal fantasy with a dash of kink that turns family-friendly with a vengeance. The narrator is the grown-up Henry (Gattlin Griffith), a pubescent lad whose father has decamped and whose mother, Adele (Kate Winslet), has become a virtual shut-in — shattered, says Henry, not by the loss of her husband but the loss of “love itself.” He tries to replace her ex but it won’t take. He’s not of age. And then, as if out of his fervid imagination, in steps an escaped prisoner, Frank (Josh Brolin), a hunk with ropy muscles who takes refuge in their home to nurse his injuries and...
- 1/31/2014
- by David Edelstein
- Vulture
Title: Labor Day Paramount Pictures Director: Jason Reitman Screenwriter: Jason Reitman, from Joyce Maynard’s novel Cast: Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet, Gattlin Griffith, Brooke Smith, Clark Gregg, J.K. Simmons, James Van Der Beek, Maika Monroe, Alexie Gilmore, Tobey Maguire, Bri Screened at: Paramount, NYC, 11/12/13 Opens: December 27, 2013 in La, January 31, 2014 elsewhere As this film moves along at a steady pace, occasionally stopping for flashbacks, you may be thinking, “Hey, this doesn’t sound believable.” True enough: the romance between a convicted murderer and an innocent, divorced woman may not be something that has occurred to any of your neighbors, but stranger things have happened. Apropos, think of Stockholm [ Read More ]
The post Labor Day Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Labor Day Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 1/31/2014
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Labor Day
Written and directed by Jason Reitman
USA, 2013
It’s all too fitting that, at one point midway through Labor Day, two of the lead characters are sitting in front of a TV, watching a network broadcast of Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This film’s writer-director, Jason Reitman, no doubt has been inspired throughout his career by Spielberg, as so many younger directors have been. But more importantly, the alien behavior that so inflames the imagination of the characters populating Close Encounters is analogous to the completely outlandish and illogical behavior exhibited throughout Labor Day, a mawkish and painfully sincere melodrama that’s mere inches away from being an outright parody of the Nicholas Sparks subgenre of recent years.
Kate Winslet plays Adele, a now-single mother after her husband (Clark Gregg) left her in the midst of a personal and physical crisis...
Written and directed by Jason Reitman
USA, 2013
It’s all too fitting that, at one point midway through Labor Day, two of the lead characters are sitting in front of a TV, watching a network broadcast of Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This film’s writer-director, Jason Reitman, no doubt has been inspired throughout his career by Spielberg, as so many younger directors have been. But more importantly, the alien behavior that so inflames the imagination of the characters populating Close Encounters is analogous to the completely outlandish and illogical behavior exhibited throughout Labor Day, a mawkish and painfully sincere melodrama that’s mere inches away from being an outright parody of the Nicholas Sparks subgenre of recent years.
Kate Winslet plays Adele, a now-single mother after her husband (Clark Gregg) left her in the midst of a personal and physical crisis...
- 1/31/2014
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
I can’t remember the last time I saw a romantic drama as odd and melancholy as this. I always enjoy watching Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, and I’ve been a great admirer of Jason Reitman’s work as writer and director (Thank You for Smoking, Juno, Up in the Air). But Labor Day, which he adapted from Joyce Maynard’s novel, is a curiously unsatisfying movie.The story is told through the eyes of an impressionable 13-year-old boy (Gattlin Griffith), whose father has walked out and remarried, leaving him to contend with a mother (Winslet) who is emotionally fragile and barely able to leave the house. The story takes place in a quiet New Hampshire town in 1987, where the peaceful...
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[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...
- 1/31/2014
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Director Jason Reitman broke through in the business with an impressive trio of sharply written stories about colourful, independent characters – Thank You for Smoking, Juno and Up in the Air. Although these first features will ensure Reitman keeps a good batting average as he moves forward, the director is starting to scale back into less inspired choices. Case in point: Labor Day, a dopey and implausible drama about a woman’s Stockholm syndrome that is one third intimate Alice Munro and two thirds a Nicholas Sparks treacle.
It is perplexing to think about what Reitman saw in Joyce Maynard’s best-selling piece of domestic sap, or what Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin found on his page that drew them into these incompletely drawn characters. Although Labor Day is made with skill and performed with full-bodied conviction, the film features one of the strangest big-screen romances in recent memory, one overwrought...
It is perplexing to think about what Reitman saw in Joyce Maynard’s best-selling piece of domestic sap, or what Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin found on his page that drew them into these incompletely drawn characters. Although Labor Day is made with skill and performed with full-bodied conviction, the film features one of the strangest big-screen romances in recent memory, one overwrought...
- 1/31/2014
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
By now, you've probably already heard about "Labor Day" and that infamous pie scene. But believe it or not, Jason Reitman's new movie isn't just about baked goods. So what else is it about?
Based on Joyce Maynard's coming-of-age novel and set in small-town New England in the late 1980s, the film stars Josh Brolin as Frank, an escaped convict who convinces a reclusive single mother (Kate Winslet) and her young son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) to let him hide out in their house. What's originally only supposed to be a few hours turns into an entire long weekend, as Frank becomes the stand-in man of the house both mother and son had been missing, fixing loose floorboards, teaching Henry how to play baseball, and yes, bake a peach pie.
Following the movie's premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival, Reitman, Brolin and Griffith held a press conference to discuss their new film.
Based on Joyce Maynard's coming-of-age novel and set in small-town New England in the late 1980s, the film stars Josh Brolin as Frank, an escaped convict who convinces a reclusive single mother (Kate Winslet) and her young son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) to let him hide out in their house. What's originally only supposed to be a few hours turns into an entire long weekend, as Frank becomes the stand-in man of the house both mother and son had been missing, fixing loose floorboards, teaching Henry how to play baseball, and yes, bake a peach pie.
Following the movie's premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival, Reitman, Brolin and Griffith held a press conference to discuss their new film.
- 1/30/2014
- by Rick Mele
- Moviefone
Set in a quiet New Hampshire town, Labor Day is the story of single mom Adele (Kate Winslet), her son Henry (Gattlin Griffith), and Frank (Josh Brolin), a fugitive that the two initially house against their will. As they begin to see more of his true character, he starts to fill in the role of husband and father. Based on the 2009 novel by Joyce Maynard, the film is written and directed by Jason Reitman.
With her novel “To Die For” previously adapted into a film by Gus Van Sant, Labor Day marks the second adaptation of Maynard’s work. She was recently seen discussing her relationship with J.D. Salinger in the 2013 documentary Salinger, which she has also written about.
I sat down with Maynard in a roundtable interview to discuss her perspective of the film adaptation, how the original story came to her, her love for New Hampshire, and more.
With her novel “To Die For” previously adapted into a film by Gus Van Sant, Labor Day marks the second adaptation of Maynard’s work. She was recently seen discussing her relationship with J.D. Salinger in the 2013 documentary Salinger, which she has also written about.
I sat down with Maynard in a roundtable interview to discuss her perspective of the film adaptation, how the original story came to her, her love for New Hampshire, and more.
- 1/30/2014
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Jason Reitman puts Josh Brolin's handsomely rugged features and deep well of vulnerability to powerful use in his latest "Labor Day," which opens this Friday following screenings at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals. (go here for Indiewire's glowing review). In the drama (based on a novel by Joyce Maynard and written for the screen by Reitman) Brolin plays an escaped convict who finds refuge in the home of a depressed single mother (Kate Winslet) and her son (Gattlin Griffith). As police troll the town, Brolin's character gradually reveals his true colors and falls for his new 'family' in the process. [Editor's Note: This interview was originally published during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.] Indiewire sat down with Brolin the morning following the Toronto premiere to discuss the film, working opposite Winslet, and why he found the role so challenging. I saw the film at a press screening. How did the premiere last night go? Really well. I was really amazed...
- 1/30/2014
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
Thankfully, "Labor Day" isn't one of those ensemble pieces with Ashton Kutcher and a lot of meet-cutes, although it does take place over a holiday weekend. Jason Reitman's newest movie, which is based on the novel by Joyce Maynard, is the story of a man on the lam and the mother and son who give him shelter. And pie. Delicious peach pie!
At first Adele (Kate Winslet) and Henry (Gattlin Griffith) are scared of the looming Frank (Josh Brolin), a convicted murderer who manages to escape from the hospital after a routine appendectomy. In return for their forced hospitality, Frank fixes things around the house, cooks for them, and even helps Henry work on his pitch. In just a short amount of time, Adele, who is divorced, depressed, and seemingly agoraphobic, falls for the escaped convict. Frank's escape has their whole small town on edge, and it's only a...
At first Adele (Kate Winslet) and Henry (Gattlin Griffith) are scared of the looming Frank (Josh Brolin), a convicted murderer who manages to escape from the hospital after a routine appendectomy. In return for their forced hospitality, Frank fixes things around the house, cooks for them, and even helps Henry work on his pitch. In just a short amount of time, Adele, who is divorced, depressed, and seemingly agoraphobic, falls for the escaped convict. Frank's escape has their whole small town on edge, and it's only a...
- 1/30/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
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