Giovanni Ribisi
Contraband
Mark Wahlberg leads the cast of Contraband, a fast-paced thriller about a man trying to stay out of a world he worked so hard to leave behind and the family he’ll do anything to protect. Set in New Orleans, the film explores the cutthroat underground world of international smuggling—full of desperate criminals and corrupt officials, high-stakes and big payoffs—where loyalty rarely exists and death is one wrong turn away.
Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris is forced back into doing what he does best—running contraband—to settle Andy’s debt. Chris is a legendary smuggler and quickly assembles a crew with the help of his best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster), to head to Panama and return with millions in counterfeit bills.
Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and sons become their target.
Read more…The Rum Diary
The Rum Diary is an occasionally funny, occasionally madcap film that essentially is neither very funny nor very madcap. Despite the promises of the trailer the film follows a narrative that is conventional and even a tad dull. All in all, it’s a bit of a rum deal. Ahem.
Read more…Avatar
The buzz around Avatar has been almost unprecedented – James Cameron’s long-awaited return to sci-fi has been panned, praised and everything in between even before it was released. Approaching Avatar with an open mind, we discovered one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful and immersive films of recent years.
No – scratch that. One of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful and immersive films ever released.
Read more…New Avatar Trailer Blows Our Tiny Minds
OK, so over the past few days we might have been skeptical about Avatar. It’s only natural, cynical buggers that we are, that when a big-ol’ hoohar is made of a new film our shackles tend to go up. The louder the fanfare, we find, the damper the squib.
Read more…Avatar Fever Hots Up
20th Century Fox have released a new featurette about the human technology that’s being employed in the hotly-anticipated Avatar. The three minute video features the usual big-upping platitudes from head honcho James Cameron, Richard Taylor from WETA and producer Jon Landau, as well as cast members Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi and Michelle Rodriguez.
Read more…Public Enemies
Michael Mann’s expertly crafted tale of Depression-era gangster John Dillinger’s final exploits looks good on paper, with standout performances from Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. But it fails to get to the heart of one of America’s craftiest criminals.
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