The Year That Was: 2014 in Film

Check out ALL of the PDC end of year lists!

Review: Ava DuVernay's 'Selma'

Starring David Oyelowo

Review: Rob Marshall's 'Into The Woods'

Starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Anna Kendrick

Tim Burton's 'Big Eyes'

Starring Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams

Showing posts with label Kite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kite. Show all posts

Thursday, August 21, 2014

New Posters for 'White Bird in a Blizzard', 'Kite', 'Camp X-Ray', and More


When audiences finally have a chance to check out Shailene Woodley in Gregg Araki's White Bird in a Blizzard, any notions of her as just another teen actress will go out the window. She tarts it up pretty good in the film about a girl dealing with the mysterious disappearance of her wacko mother, played by Eva Green, with whom she may have more in common than she cares to admit. Thomas Jane plays one of Woodley's sexual conquests (yeah, that's right), with Christopher Meloni as her father, and Shiloh Fernandez as her dopey boyfriend. This is very much a film about a young girl's loss of purity, contrasted in this snowy poster for the film. White Bird in a Blizzard hits VOD on September 25th and theaters October 24th. You can check out my early review of the film here.


Here's a new poster for Ralph Ziman's manga adaptation, Kite, starring Samuel L. Jackson, India Eisley, and Callan McAuliffe. Opening exclusively on DirecTV next week and theaters in October, here's the official synopsis: In a vast, multicultural and decimated urban landscape, post-financial collapse, Sawa, beautiful but emotionally detached, lives a secret life as a covert assassin. The daughter of a police detective involved in the investigation of human trafficking, she was orphaned at the tender age of 12 when an unknown assailant targeted both of her parents. Now 18, Sawa is a human time-bomb intent upon eliminating members of the flesh-cartels whom she presumes murdered her family—men who exploit the defenseless children of a collapsed society for the pleasure of high-paying, foreign clients.



Joke all you want but Kristen Stewart's performance in the military drama Camp X-Ray is mighty impressive, and the film is set to make a big splash on October 28th. The Guantanamo Bay film is directed by Peter Sattler, and the first poster captures the isolation of Stewart's character, a soldier who forges a relationship with a detainee. Here's the synopsis:  A young woman joins the military to be part of something bigger than herself and her small town roots. But she ends up as a new guard at Guantanamo Bay instead, where her mission is far from black and white. Surrounded by hostile jihadists and aggressive squadmates, she strikes up an unusual friendship with one of the detainees. A story of two people, on opposite sides of a war, struggling to find their way through the ethical quagmire of Guantanamo Bay. And in the process, they form an unlikely bond that changes them both.


Two new posters have been released for Horns, showing the light and dark side of David Aja's adaptation of the Joe Hill novel. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Ig Parrish, a small-town guy who is accused of raping and murdering his girlfriend (Juno Temple), and seeks out the truth with the help of two powerful demonic horns that sprout on his head. They give him the ability to force others to reveal their darkest sins and give in to baser instincts. Horns opens on Halloween, and if you want more check out my interview with Aja from Comic-Con. 
 

Kind of weird that Stephen Daldry (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) has yet to secure a release date for his adaptation of Trash, which stars Rooney Mara, Martin Sheen, and Wagner Moura. Every single film Daldry has directed has wound up nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, so one has to think Trash will eventually find its way into theaters. The film, penned by Richard Curtis (Love Actually), follows three homeless kids in a Third World country who are pursued by the local police after they find something valuable in a dump site. 
 

And finally, Dumb and Dumber To channels the Scarlett Johansson action flick Lucy in two new posters. Only these guys are using 1% of their brains rather than the customary 10%. Here's the synopsis for the long-awaited sequel starring Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey, opening on November 14th: Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise their signature roles as Lloyd and Harry in the sequel to the smash hit that took the physical comedy and kicked it in the nuts: Dumb and Dumber To.  The original film’s directors, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, take Lloyd and Harry on a road trip to find a child Harry never knew he had and the responsibility neither should ever, ever be given.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Sweet Revenge in Trailer for Anime Adaptation 'Kite' Starring Samuel L. Jackson and India Eisley


If Kite had come out a couple of years ago during the Hit-Girl craze one wonders if it would have been embraced or accused of being a copycat. The latter might have been preferable to the complete lack of buzz surrounding the revenge thriller despite featuring Samuel L. Jackson and it being an adaptation of a true anime classic.

Starring Jackson, India Eisley, and Callan McAuliffe with Ralph Ziman directing, the film takes place in the seedy underworld of human trafficking. Eisley plays Sawa, an orphan whose detective father was killed by an assassin targeting both of her parents. Discovered by a pair of shady cops, they train her to be their personal killer while she tries to find the ones that murdered her family.

Kite recently played at Fantasia Fest where my friend Christopher Bumbray of Joblo.com called it one of the worst moves he's seen this year. Watch the trailer and judge for yourself. Kite hits DirecTV on August 28th, then expands to VOD and theaters on October 10th.


Kite (2014) Trailer by Afro-Style.com

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Samuel L. Jackson Introduces First Footage from Live-Action 'Kite'


The original Kite anime is notable for a number of reasons, but mostly its extremely graphic depictions of violence and sex towards young women. For that reason I've often compared it to the 'Dragon Tattoo' movies, although it's far more of a revenge film than those turn out to be. The live-action version of Kite was originally meant to be a reunion of Snakes On a Plane director David R. Ellis and star Samuel L. Jackson, but Ellis passed away with Ralph Ziman taking over. But Jackson stayed on board, and is now introducing the first footage.

Clocking in at over nine minutes,  this is a pretty extensive look and, while it's clearly unfinished, it seems to have captured the anime's energy. Or more accurately, lead India Eisley seems to have settled nicely into the role of Sawa, a young girl seeking revenge for the murder of her parents. There were originally two corrupt cops who took Sawa under their wing and turned her into an assassin, but it looks like Jackson is going to be playing a composite of them both. 

There's a little bit of Kill Bill in here, mixed with a dash of Joe Wright's Hanna, but it's too early to tell how it will come together overall. It's a promising start, though. Kite is expected to open later in 2014. [Bloody Disgusting]

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Ralph Ziman to direct live-action 'Kite' remake with Samuel L. Jackson and India Eisley


Late last year we learned that Samuel L. Jackson would be reteaming with his Snakes On a Plane director David R. Ellis for a live-action adaptation of Kite, the controversial anime from Yasuomi Umetsu. But Ellis unfortunately passed away a few weeks ago, and with production set to begin later this month, a new director was found in South African helmer Ralph Ziman.

Ziman is mostly known for directing music videos but he also took on the 2008 crime flick Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema, which South Africa submitted for the Academy Awards that year. Jackson, who was the first to sign on mostly due to Ellis' involvement, is still on board and will be joined by India Eisley (Underworld: Awakening) and Callan McAuliffe (The Great Gatsby).

I've compared the original Kite to the Millennium Trilogy before in terms of graphic depictions of sex and violence, particularly the brutal attitude it takes towards young women. The story follows Sawa (Eisley), a schoolgirl who is orphaned after the murder of her parents. She's taken in by the detective duo investigating the case, but both are corrupt, with one forcing her to become his sex slave while under his guardianship. She becomes an assassin, killing whomever she is ordered to, while also vowing to find her parents' killer.

Jackson will be playing Karl Aker, one of the cops who takes Sawa under his wing. It's unclear how faithful the film will be to the source anime, but I'm guessing pretty close.