Sundance Review: 'Z for Zachariah' starring Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Chris Pine

In 2012 Craig Zobel's impressive but difficult to endure directorial debut Compliance looked with dim-colored glasses at the ways power can be used to control others. His follow-up, the sci-fi flavored Z for Zachariah also looks at authority, albeit a much higher one, and how one's faith can be manipulated by others to achieve their ends, but also how we use it to lie to ourselves about our own desires.

Only three characters occupy space in this intimate but gripping thriller set in the wake of a disaster that has destroyed the human population and rendered much of the planet uninhabitable.  Margot Robbie trades in the glamorous characters we're accustomed to seeing her in for the role of Ann, the lone survivor in a pocket of unaffected land. More than capable of surviving on her own, although her trusty dog is by her side, Ann hunts and farms to eke out a meager, lonely existence.  That changes when she encounters Loomis (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the first human she's seen in ages and a lifeline out of her despair. It's clear he's been in much the same boat, and after an accident leaves him sick with radiation poisoning the two set aside their mutual mistrust to take care of one another.

Anytime two lonely people are placed in such close proximity the spark of romance is probable, but it's inevitable given the extreme nature of their circumstances.  And while Zobel slowly builds to that passion through their work to build a sustainable life, he's more interested in the ideological differences that could derail everything.  She's driven by the power of her religious convictions, believing to the core of her being that God has done all of this for a reason. Loomis, while not an outright atheist, is a scientist who has no qualms about tearing down her father's old church to build a power source to survive a harsh winter. While there are no pointed, heated debates, the film is too elegantly constructed for that,  it's never far out of mind as new temptations creep into their lives. The arrival of a shady but charming drifter named Caleb (Chris Pine) awakens the passion in Ann, while also providing her an outlet to express her faith. Naturally it doesn't please Loomis to nearly the same degree, and soon the pressure builds between both men as they subtly one-up each other to win Ann's love.

Rich with themes of jealousy, contempt, and lust, Z for Zachariah explores the internal conflict between the needs of the flesh and of the soul. It's a powerful follow-up for Zobel, and he's proving to be a director capable of pulling the best from his actors. It's refreshing to see Robbie in a complicated, vanity-free role like this as she was already getting pigeonholed as a screen vixen. As Ann she gets to show a vulnerability we've yet to see from her before, and at this point one has to recognize how integral she's been to the success of every film she's been in. Ejiofor is simply amazing once again, and perhaps has the most complicated, wide-ranging role to play. Once again Ejiofor is placed in the role of a man forced to endure hardships, both great and small, for a chance to live the life he imagined. Pine's role is less defined than the others but its good to see him outside of a larger ensemble for once.

While predicting which films will go on to greater things outside of the festival is always tricky, Z for Zachariah is a masterfully done film of deep complexity that everyone would be wise to seek out.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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We've Probably seen the Last of Chris Pine as 'Jack Ryan'

Does anybody even remember Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit came out earlier this year? The film got kind of a raw deal from Paramount, getting booted from its original release date and dumped into January because of The Wolf of Wall Street. The attempted reboot of the Tom Clancy franchise didn't perform well at all, with only $50M domestic and $135M worldwide, and now star Chris Pine says we probably shouldn't look for any sequels...at least not with him in the starring role. While talking to Moviefone about the Disney musical Into the Woods, he had this to say about playing Jack Ryan again...

Pine: "No. I don’t think it made enough money for that to happen. That’s one of my deep regrets, that we didn’t totally get that right. It’s a great franchise and if it’s not me then I hope it gets a fifth life at this point. It’s just great. I love the spy genre. I hope it’s done again and with a great story."

It doesn't help that the film, which was directed by Kenneth Branagh and co-starred Keira Knightley, wasn't very good. Reviews were lukewarm at best, and it didn't seem like the perfect fit for Pine who has yet to prove he's got the kind of star power to lead a franchise. His best performances have all been in ensembles such as Star Trek, Into the Woods, Horrible Bosses 2, and Joe Carnahan's indie comedy Stretch.  It took more than a decade for another Jack Ryan film after Ben Affleck's The Sum of All Fears flopped, and who knows how long it will be before we get another one. Don't forget, this was going to be the start of a series of movies that would have included a spinoff of Kevin Costner's character.  All of those projects appear to be off the table now.

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Review: Rob Marshall's 'Into the Woods', Starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, and More

Steven Sondheim's celebrated musical premiered on Broadway in 1986 and has been popular ever since. In it, Sondheim retells the tales of several fairy tale characters that we know well, but they don't necessarily have the traditional happy endings we've all become accustomed to. And really, who better than Rob Marshall (Chicago, Annie (1999), Nine) to direct and adapt the musical to the big screen. He directs the adaptation in a visceral way and has a creative eye that brings us a new version but still manages to maintain respect to the original material. With a great cast, wonderful production value, and high energy, Into the Woods is definitely some of the most fun you'll have at the movies this year. 

In a land far away, surrounded by woods, there lived a baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt), who have both desperately longed to have a child, but to no avail. In a house surrounded by an evil stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) wishes to go to the king's festival (known to all of us as a ball). In another part of the kingdom, a young boy named Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) and his mother (Tracey Ullman) need money for food, but Jack doesn't want to sell his beloved cow for gold coins. And Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) is on her way to her granny's house, but mustn't stray from the path to get there. 

The Witch (Meryl Streep) from next door knows the baker and his wife wish to have a child and tells them a little secret: The reason they can't have a baby is because she cursed their house when the baker's father stole the vegetables from her garden (and the magic beans that kept her young). So, in order to lift the curse, the couple must go into the woods to retrieve items the witch requires so they can finally make their wish come true. All the fairy tale characters cross paths in one way or another and end up being led off their original paths and are instead led down a path none had anticipated when they'd made their wishes.

Rob Marshall has a knack for taking something from the stage and transforming it into a new experience for those who have been fans of Into the Woods and, at the same time, has the ability to make new fans of the musical as well. The creative liberties that he takes add to the musical rather than take away from it. Even the couple of songs that are omitted in the second half of the film aren't necessarily felt because Marshall does such a good job setting up what the characters are feeling. 

The entire art production of the film is superb. The costumes, the sets, and the natural setting, paired with good use of some CGI, is well-balanced. The ensemble cast works very well together and some of the most memorable parts of the film come when they cross paths in the woods during several occasions, which is also very much remiss of the stage production and plays out pretty well onscreen, to the advantage of the film because this could have gone very wrong. 

Ironically, Meryl Streep swore she'd never play a witch, but of course threw that out the window as soon as she found out it was for a musical by Sondheim, and she owns every minute of her screen time. Her presence is both sad and fun all at the same time, and her entrances and exits in every scene are fantastic. And as much as the rest of the cast may have probably been intimidated by Streep's presence, they hold their own and at least aren't overshadowed by her. 

Emily Blunt and James Corden are essentially the central characters of the film and everything revolves around their story. The two are good together, have a cute chemistry, and are able to hold their own in a sea of characters that are running amok in the woods. Anna Kendrick may be an odd choice for some as Cinderella simply because she is different than what the stereotype has implied in the past but her powerful voice, indecisiveness, and kindliness immediately endears her to you. 

Lilla Crawford and Daniel Huttlestone, the youngest of the cast, do a good job in keeping up with all the of the more experienced actors. Huttlestone, who was in Les Miserables two years ago, has improved in enunciating during his songs so that everyone can understand what he's singing. And between all the main characters running around, we can't forget the two-dimensional princes, played by Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen, whose only major problems are that they're smitten with women whom they can't immediately have and provide the large amount of comedic relief in the film. 

The princes, along with the evil stepmother (Christine Baranksi), are the only ones in the fairy tale shakeup who remain static as characters and don't go beyond the original two-dimensional way they've always been written. This is primarily because they're used as a cause for change in the people around them but don't do any of the changing themselves. In this case, it still works here, mostly because of the comedy, and as a warning, Magnussen's character is probably the most cheesy of all of them. 

The film also touches on several great and important themes: Taking responsibility for one's actions, realizing there are consequences for your actions, to be careful what you wish for, that everything you wish for and want isn't necessarily what you thought it would turn out to be, and probably most central to the story is the theme of parenthood and the teaching of children. After all, "you must be careful what you say, children will listen". 

Whether Sondheim means to address gender roles in an almost mocking fashion (like he does with the entire fairy tale aspect) intentionally, I'm not sure, but he does regardless. There is a lot in there about mothers and fathers, the relationship between parents and children, women being on their own in life, how the baker's role is slightly challenged when his wife joins him in the woods to help him achieve their goal, and how ironic it is when only the female dies right after she commits adultery, but her male counterpart does not.

All of these things are thrown in there and really make you think about the way women are treated in comparison to men, how fairy tale characters and their happy endings are portrayed in pop culture and how they shape and inform generations but really shouldn't because Sondheim is saying, look, there are consequences and there are lessons and it's not just fairy dust, princes, and castles. He's asking to really look at these characters.  

Sondheim tells the tale through well-worded lyrics and Marshall plays off of these lyrics fantastically. He enhances the songs in well-choreographed scenes, most notable of them being "Agony" by Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen, where they spend the entire song preening and prancing competitively in what is also the funniest song and scene in the film. Also a favorite is "It Takes Two" with Blunt and Corden, who show off their playfulness during the song, and "On the Steps of the Palace" by Anna Kendrick, who runs through her indecisiveness in terms of the prince in a clearly indecisive way that anyone can probably relate to. 

One of the stranger aspects of the film is the wolf, played by Johnny Depp, who is creepy in a way kids won't get but adults very much will. He's in the film all of five minutes, but the interaction between he and Red Riding Hood is very much filled with sexual innuendo, harking back to the original tale and can be a bit off putting, though children won't read too much into it. Also, the scene where Red Riding Hood sings after being rescued by the baker doesn't really seem to fit into the film at all. Not the song itself, but the scene of being eaten by the wolf and then the scene inside the wolf's stomach is out of place and could have been omitted and left with just Lilla Crawford singing and perhaps doing something that didn't involve the wolf at all. 

All in all, long-time fans and general audiences will be entertained by Into the Woods. Die-hard fans also shouldn't fear of any massive changes to the plot either, and Disney takes care not to shake off the dark direction the story takes. And even though the film softens some of the outcomes in the second half, adults will be able to grasp the underlying subtleties. Hopefully, you can take a deeper look at a musical that's chock full of themes, as well as a fun shake up of all the fairy tale happy endings we've all come to know, which is also ironic since this is produced by Disney. 

The original Grimm brothers tales all make their appearances and the stories are much darker than what we're used to, especially once we get past the first half of the film and move into the aftermath of all the characters' wishing. And save for a couple of instances where the film feels like it loses its balance (and they all have to do with the wolf), the musical carries itself gracefully and with enthusiasm. A great day for musicals. 

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Review: 'Horrible Bosses 2' starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, and Charlie Day

Here's the thing about Horrible Bosses: it's pretty funny....at first. There's a lot to love about a film that is basically mean-spirited wish fulfillment about the desire we've all had to do awful things to our bosses. Who wouldn't like that? Try to watch it again lately? It doesn't hold up, and certainly doesn't beg for a sequel. But it made $200M and so now we have Horrible Bosses 2, a lame and uninspired follow-up directed by the guy who inflicted That's My Boy on you a couple of years ago.

Charlie Day, Jason Bateman, and Jason Sudeikis return as Dale, Nick, and Kurt, but they weren't the funniest part of the first film; the bosses were! That's the case here, as well, with Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Spacey returning to indulge in the chance to play nasty and depraved, and we love them for it. The plot this time around has the moronic trio deciding to launch their own business, so THEY are now the horrible bosses in question. Well, they aren't actually bosses until they hire employees, right? Enter Christoph Waltz as a sleazy rich businessman with Chris Pine as his son Rex, who proceeds to cheat the guys out of millions of dollars, ruining their company before it's even really started. So what do our murderous heroes do in retaliation? Well they can't plot another murder because that didn't turn out so well (although they got what they wanted out of it), so instead the guys decide to kidnap Rex for a hefty ransom.

Okay, so it's a given that the crime would be a total dud and that they'd mess up every single facet of it, but what's weird is how much the trio have changed. Dale is pretty much the same; still fighting off his oversexed boss Julia (Aniston), but Nick and Kurt are completely different. Nick was the "brains" of the operation last time, certainly smart enough not to fall into the kind of financial trap (he was an economics wiz in the first movie!) that screws them over this time. Kurt is such a creepy womanizer now that it's hard to like him at all. The only thing that gets them by is the easy chemistry between the three actors; they are genuinely fun to watch together because it seems like so much of the best gags are unscripted. That's a good thing because the actual screenplay by John Morris and Sean Anders (the aforementioned That's My Boy director) is underwhelming at best. To be fair, Anders also directed Sex Drive which is vastly underrated, but he doesn't seem to "get" Horrible Bosses and never makes good use of the concept or the cast. This time around we're meant to hate the slick corporate CEOs, the ones who get $50M golden parachutes to reward their failures and get rich on the backs of working stiffs. That's all fine, but the problem is that the bad guys aren't completely heinous here, at least not in comparison to three guys who can now add kidnapping to their growing criminal resume. In fact, it's Spacey's imprisoned character who sums up our heroes (and the film) perfectly when he says "You're all fucking morons".

While Aniston, Spacey, and the returning Jamie Foxx as "Motherfucker" Jones are great, they are firmly in the background this time and not key to the plot, which is a huge mistake. Waltz, who we can all admit is one of the best actors working today when it comes to playing villains, doesn't make any kind of impression. On the flip side, the generally-bland Chris Pine has maybe found his calling in roles that allow him to get a little crazy.  Horrible Bosses 2 has a few moments, but it's hard to escape the feeling that this film simply didn't need to happen, and there aren't enough laughs to justify its existence.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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New Trailer and Motion Posters for Disney's Star-Studded 'Into the Woods'

Fans of Broadway musicals are going to be very happy with the gifts bestowed upon them this holiday season. A new trailer has been released for Disney's star-studded Into the Woods, Rob Marshall's adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical fantasy featuring some of your favorite storybook characters like Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and more. With the Annie remake also out there this Christmas, will audiences be willing to indulge in both?

A new trailer and a series of subtly animated motion posters have been released, showing off the impressive cast of Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, James Corden, Chris Pine, Billy Magnussen, Daniel Huttlestone, Lilla Crawford, and Mackenzie Mauzy. Into the Woods opens December 25th. Here's the synopsis:

“Into the Woods” is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone), and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy)—all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife (James Corden & Emily Blunt), their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch (Meryl Streep) who has put a curse on them.


Into The Woods International Trailer #2 by itsartmag

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Johnny Depp is the Big Bad Wolf in New Images from 'Into the Woods'

"I’ve been offered many witches over the years, starting when I was 40, and I said no to all of them. But this was really fun because it played with the notion of what witches mean. They represented age and ugliness and scary powers we don’t understand. So here’s my opportunity to say, here's what you wish for when you're getting old."

While everyone can appreciate having the chance to see Meryl Streep playing bad as the evil Witch in Rob Marshall's musical adaptation Into the Woods, we know she's going to bring it the way she always does. What we haven't had a chance to see yet is her co-star Johnny Depp in the role of the Big Bad Wolf, but that has now been rectified by EW, who have put the cast of the fairy tale film on their latest cover series. And honestly, he kind of looks like Disney's version of the wolf, the one who terrorized the Three Little Pigs in the 1933 cartoon. Whether that's what they were going for or not, since this is a Disney movie, that much isn't clear but Depp's lecherous appearance next to Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) screams "To Catch a Predator".

We also get a look at James Corden and Emily Blunt as the Baker and the Baker's Wife, who venture into the woods in hopes of breaking a curse; Anna Kendrick as Cinderella alongside Chris Pine as the Prince; and Mackenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel.  Into the Woods opens Christmas Day.

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Shower Buddies Plot a Kidnapping in New 'Horrible Bosses 2' Trailer

Part of the reason Horrible Bosses did as well as it did, earning more than $200M, was a supporting cast willing to go to some outlandish lengths. Jennifer Aniston's incredibly raunchy performance was a stand-out, and it looks like it will be again in Horrible Bosses 2. But its the dufus trio of Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, and Jason Bateman as would-be kidnappers who really seem to be at the top of their game in the latest trailer, giving the impression it may actually be funnier than the original. Here's the synopsis:

Fed up with answering to higher-ups, Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis) decide to become their own bosses by launching their own business in “Horrible Bosses 2.” But a slick investor soon pulls the rug out from under them. Outplayed and desperate, and with no legal recourse, the three would-be entrepreneurs hatch a misguided plan to kidnap the investor’s adult son and ransom him to regain control of their company.

Also starring Christoph Waltz, Chris Pine, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx, Horrible Bosses 2 is directed by Sean Anders and opens November 26th.


Horrible Bosses 2 Trailer-3 w/ Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Chris Pine by thecinemasource

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Trailer for Joe Carnahan's 'Stretch' is Completely Flipped Out

Despite losing its distribution deal with Universal that would have released it into theaters, Joe Carnahan's small-budget, very R-rated comedy Stretch has kept a steady base of rallying supporters. The director hit the Internet to drum up support himself, and the result is a a VOD release in just a few days. Now the first trailer for the interestingly-cast film has been released and it looks pretty wild.

The talent alone should be worth shelling out a few bucks for as Stretch stars Ed Helms, Chris Pine, Brooklyn Decker, James Badge Dale, David Hasselhoff, Ray Liotta, Shaun Toub and Jessica Alba. Wilson plays a debt-ridden limo driver who tries to get out of it by chauffeuring around a deviant billionaire (Pine) over one night of Hellish insanity. And that's pretty much what this trailer promises, so if you dug Carnahan's Smokin' Aces this is probably for you.

Stretch hits Amazon on October 7th, then other VOD outlets a week later.


Stretch Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Patrick Wilson, Jessica Alba Movie HD. by TrailerNow

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New Trailer and Poster for 'Horrible Bosses 2' Takes Care of Business

The surprising box office success of Horrible Bosses had a lot to do with the supporting cast, which featured Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Aniston in wildly over the top roles. And it looks like the sequel, which brings them both back while adding Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine into the mix, will be even crazier than before.

Charlie Day, Jason Bateman, and Jason Sudeikis are back for Horrible Bosses 2, and the new trailer is pretty stacked from top to bottom with laughs. The guys basically got away with trying to kill their awful bosses last time around, but this time it's all about kidnapping. Specifically they want to hold for ransom the wealthy investor (Waltz) who crushed their hopes of owning a business. Also back is Jamie Foxx as "Mothafucka" Jones as the Yoda of their bumbling criminal exploits. Oh, and Jennifer Aniston really wants to get plowed.

Directed by Sean Anders, Horrible Bosses 2 opens November 26th.


Horrible Bosses 2 Official Trailer #2 (2014) - Chris Pine, Jennifer Anniston Comedy HD by MOVIES Coming Soon

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Fairy Tales Come to Life in First Trailer and Photos for Disney's 'Into the Woods'

Nobody has had more success with live-action fairy tales than Disney, who have broke the bank with Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent already, and probably will again next year with Cinderella. But even when turning to the small screen, the Mouse House has scored another hit with Once Upon a Time, even going so far as to include Frozen characters into the next season. Basically, fairy tales are big business right now. So it's easy to see why they wanted to adapt Steven Sondheim's beloved fairy tale musical Into the Woods, and it's no shock that a superstar cast immediately flocked to be a part of it. And for those who have been eagerly awaiting a first look at the film, your wish has now been granted.

A teaser trailer for Into the Woods has been released, along with a number of new photos featuring much of the huge cast, although Johnny Depp's Big Bad Wolf is conspicuously absent. James Corden and Emily Blunt star as the Baker and his wife who desperately wish to have a child but learn they have been cursed by an evil Witch played by Meryl Streep. The only way to break the curse is to venture deep into the woods, where they encounter famous characters from the Brothers Grimm stories you read as a kid: Anna Kendrick is Cinderella, Lilla Crawford as Red Riding Hood, Chris Pine as Prince Charming, Mackenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel, and many many more.

Into the Woods opens Christmas Day, directed by Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha helmer, Rob Marshall.


INTO THE WOODS-Official Trailer (HD) Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp by Trailersstv

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The Gang's All Here in First Trailer for 'Horrible Bosses 2'

When the first Horrible Bosses opened in 2011 it came with a ton of hype for a couple of reasons. For starters it played on the idea that every hard working American working a 9-5 secretly hates their boss and wants them dead. It also had a great supporting cast of Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Colin Farrell playing wildly over-the-top despicable characters. In short it looked like a lot of fun, and $209M later we had one of the top grossing R-rated movies ever made, enough reason for Warner Bros. to order up a sequel even though the first movie didn't really demand it.

Sean Anders is on board to helm Horrible Bosses 2, and the first trailer brings the entire gang back with a few new additions. This time around the three stooges Nick, Dale, and Kurt have decided to be their own bosses and start a business. But when a wealthy investor screws them over, they foolishly decide to pull off a kidnapping plot that predictably goes awry and they must turn to a familiar face (the returning Jamie Foxx) for some help. Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine are also on board although we only catch a brief glimpse of the latter, and Aniston appears to be as frisky as ever which could be good for a few laughs. Overall this looks about as uninspired as one might expect.

Horrible Bosses 2 opens on November 26th.


Horrible Bosses 2 TRAILER 1 (2014) - Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis Comedy HD by TrailerXM

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Michael B. Jordan Joins 'Men Who Kill'; Chris Pine Eyes 'The Finest Hours'

* With Fantastic Four, the Rocky spinoff Creed, and John Hillcoat's Triple Nine on the way, Michael B. Jordan isn't lacking for things to do. But he's still taking time to add more to his slate, joining the upcoming CIA thriller, Men Who Kill. Nothing else is know about it at this time except TJ Fixman will write the script with Greg Berlanti (Life As We Know It) producing. [Variety]


* Last year we learned Robert Schwentke (Red , RIPD) was on board to direct Disney's The Finest Hours, based on the 1952 collision of two oil tankers near Cape Cod and the daring Coast Guard rescue that followed. But with Schwentke busy with the Divergent sequel, Insurgent, that job is now going to Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm), with Chris Pine in talks to star. Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson write the script, adapted from Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias' book. Pine would fit this movie in before he jumps into the next Star Trek film which is still in need of a director. [THR]

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The Talent Show: Chris Pine

Chris Pine made his acting debut back in 2004, when he co-starred alongside Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement. Since then, he's starred in several movies including Bottle Shock with Alan Rickman, the sci-fi thriller Carriers, Unstoppable with Denzel Washington, People Like Us with Elizabeth Banks, and done voice over work for the animation Rise of the Guardians. Though he's probably most famous for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams's reboot of Star Trek and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. 

A lot of times he plays the charming, if a bit narcissistic and overconfident but very likable characters. But this year, Pine seems to be venturing into different types of film. He just recently starred as the intelligent Tom Clancy analyst in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and will also be seen this year in Horrible Bosses 2 and we'll hear him sing in the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Into the Woods. 

And while his career and personality might be an interest to some and not to others, that doesn't matter because this is the talent show, after all. So, let's throw out all acting talk and get to why I'm writing this article to begin with: to admire Chris Pine's genetic makeup. Included in this are his Peter Gallagher-esque eyebrows, the sexy beard, and his very, very sparkly blue eyes. Check out the pictures below and take the time to admire the pretty! 

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Chris Pine to Star in David Gordon Green's 'The Line'

Although he's probably still smarting over the response to Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and the end of that franchise reboot before it's even properly begun, Chris Pine is already moving on to something new in a similar genre. According to THR, Pine is set to lead The Line, a new thriller from the suddenly very busy David Gordon Green.

Green, who has the gritty drama Joe coming up and recently wrapped filming on Manglehorn with Al Pacino, will direct The Line based on a script by The Walking Dead writer Sang Kyu Kim. Pine plays a patrol agent whose life is in ruins after losing his wife and son. After a shootout with a cartel leaves a 10-year-old boy orphaned, Pine goes off on the run with him, only to discover they have enemies on both sides of the law.

It sounds like Green is dipping his toes back into mainstream territory again, but given his flexibility on that front it may be unwise to assume. Pine should be seen next in Disney's musical adaptation of Into the Woods.

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