I remember how many people were caught totally off guard by Ricky Gervais’s “The Invention of Lying” (2009), a film with a simple premise about a man who could lie in a world where nobody else could, when it suddenly became a vicious condemnation of religion. Gervais’s character, the liar, invented the concept of a “Man in the Sky” who would take good people to an afterlife if they followed “ten ... more >
ARCHIVES
“Special Correspondents,” TRIBECA
This is a remake from a 2009 French-made comedy
Ricky Gervais and Eric Bana
Directed by Ricky Gervais
DEADFALL
Casino heist thrills and snow. Lots of it (snow)
Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde
Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky
Better movies are coming in the next couple of weeks, is what I kept repeating to myself as I sat through “Deadfall," an incredibly average thriller about people with father issues. Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde play Addison and Liza, two siblings who forged a very deep bond with one another during their young years when they’re alcoholic father put them through hell. Now they’re casino robbers on ... more >
ERIC BANA in Deadfall (coming this winter)
Family ties and crime - it's a dicey game
Siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) are on the run after a casino robbery gone bad. When a car accident leaves their wheel man and a state trooper dead, they split up and make a run for the Canadian border in the worst of circumstances, a near-whiteout blizzard. While Addison heads cross-country, creating mayhem in his wake, Liza is picked up by ex-boxer Jay (Charlie Hunnam), en ... more >
Hanna
Kids a-gunnin. What next?
Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett
Directed by Joe Wright
In 1994 Luc Besson directed “The Professional,” a stark drama about a contract killer who befriends a preteen rebel. In that movie a young Natalie Portman wielded her gun for about fifteen seconds but the distorted image was a memorable one, and the ploy was used in other movies like “Kick Ass” and, most recently, in “Hanna,” directed by Joe Wright. Our gun-toting, gravity defying, ass-kicking ... more >