Action thriller Abduction didn’t offer Twilight star Taylor Lautner the breakout hit he was looking for, but that hasn’t stopped interest in him coming from a decidedly leftfield figure.

The Hollywood Reporter brings news that none other than indie-centric director Gus Van Sant is in the process of working out a deal to direct a low-budget feature based on a nonfiction article in The New Yorker magazine that Lautner himself has sourced, with an eye to produce. That’s all for the moment, detail-wise, but a writer is expected to be announced soon, with a production date pencilled in for sometime in the early part of 2012.

This might initially look like an odd couple Hollywood pairing, but it’s worth noting that the director was able to elicit a fine performance from the similarly impassive Keanu Reeves in the cult classic, My Own Private Idaho.

Lautner is eyeing up various other high-profile A-list features at the moment, but maybe this could be the career move which could be most beneficial to him.

Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) is assigned to the bank robbery division of the FBI, where he teams up with Agent Pappas (Gary Busey) to investigate a series of daring bank jobs by a gang called the Ex-Presidents. Realising that the gang is comprised of surfers who will likely only be around for a couple more weeks before the summer ends, Utah sets about infiltrating the California surfer-scene to try to track down the gang before they disappear for another year. He persuades Tyler (Lori Petty) to teach him to surf and through her meets Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) an adrenaline junkie who is searching for the ultimate ride.

*****

Point Break’s release on Blu-ray is nothing if not timely. Exactly 20 years after it first graced cinema screens and hot on the heels of an announcement that it is set to be remade, we get to see it again in sharpened up HD and what a treat it is.

Although Swayze had already showcased his considerable action chops in Road House, Reeves was untried in this genre with little more than Bill & Ted, Dangerous Liaisons and Parenthood under his belt. The casting is perfect though, Keanu focussed and physical as Special Agent Utah, with that surfer-dude lilt of his at times spoiling some of his line delivery, but suiting his altercations with his boss superbly. Swayze meanwhile, part mystic spiritualist, part warrior, all adrenaline-aholic is spot-on. One of the few nuggets we find among the special features is that during filming he kept disappearing off to go sky-diving, despite the remonstrations of the producers that he wasn’t insured. The entire cast clearly had a blast, none more so than Swayze, who has perhaps never suited a role so well (maybe Dirty Dancing runs it close).

The plot provides a great way of linking together all of the beach-football, surfing, sky-diving, car chases and foot-races. What could so easily have been a flimsy premise, merely providing a mechanism for getting everyone out into the surf or up in a plane, serves instead to provide believable, coherent motivations and arcs for all of the characters, who see their respective stories through with none of those, “but why would they do that” moments that can so easily pull you out of what would otherwise be an immersive film-watching experience. We’ve seen Kathryn Bigelow handle a story of a close-knit group in Near Dark and a man who cannot resist a life-threatening thrill-ride in The Hurt Locker, so it will come as no surprise to hear that as a director she handles the character interplay, the action sequences and the machismo adroitly. Particular mention must be made of Reeves’ chase of Swayze (or at least his stunt double) on foot and a bungled raid on drug dealers by the Feds, both of which are thrilling, tense and visceral in a way modern pixellated action sequences just cannot hope to attain.

It’s easy to assume that everyone has seen it, especially given how it is riffed on in Hot Fuzz, but perhaps you have yet to have the pleasure. Certainly the prospect of an ill-advised remake should send us all scurrying to remind ourselves of the quality of the original, especially given that we get to enjoy the shimmering sun and glistening surf in immaculately polished HD. You can grab it now on DVD or Bluray and you really should.

****~ (4/5)

Extras: As mentioned above, the HD transfer is beautifully rendered, making this well worth getting for that alone. Just as well, as the extras themselves won’t bring anyone running any time soon. There are four featurettes which feature most of the principals in some shape or form, though they all feel cobbled together from different sources and so lack any sort of coherent through-thread. Mostly it’s everyone saying what a great time they had, though we do get the occasional nugget of new information. Including that Gary Busey seems to be a little on the eccentric side of things. The deleted scenes are almost unwatchably low-res, but don’t add anything worthwhile, so perhaps no hard done there. Given that this could have been a 20-year anniversary special edition, with up to date retrospectives (and some sort of recognition of Patrick Swayze’s sad passing) and a director’s commentary, this will have to go down as a missed opportunity. Disappointing.

**~~~ (2/5)

Here we go again people! It’s Hollywood yet again admitting defeat when it comes to original ideas as we hear news that Alcon is to remake 1991 movie Point Break directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. I guess there is no way you can go wrong with an FBI agent who goes undercover as a surfer dude to trap a gang of gangsters who dress up as former presidents can you?! I guess Alcon don’t think so.

According to the news, ‘the new version is is set in the world of international extreme sports,and like the original involves an undercover FBI agent infiltrating a criminalring, but plot points beyond that have not been revealed by the filmmakers.’

What do we think, shall we boycott it?! I guess more info as we get it but in the meantime, here’s the press release from Deadline:

LOS ANGELES, CA., SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 – Financing and production company Alcon Entertainment is set to remake the 1991 action-thriller POINT BREAK as a feature film for release by Warner Bros, its home studio, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Broderick Johnsonand Andrew Kosove. The Alcon principals secured rights to the project the week of the original film’s 20th anniversary from RGM Media, John McMurrick and Chris Taylor. Kosove and Johnson will produce along with Michael DeLuca, John Baldecchi, Chris Taylor and Kurt Wimmer who also wrote the screenplay (“Salt,” “Law Abiding Citizen,” upcoming “Total Recall”). RGM Media principal Devesh Chetty and investor John McMurrick, Chairman ofMarloss Entertainment, will serve as Executive Producers. The film is being fast tracked, with the filmmakers set to take theproject out to directors soon.

The new version is set in the world of international extreme sports, and like the original involves an undercover FBI agent infiltrating a criminalring, but plot points beyond that have not been revealed by the filmmakers. State Johnson and Kosove: “Who doesn’t love the Kathryn Bigelow original and its pure heart-pounding action and thrills? Kurt’s take infuses the story and characters with new twists and settings.” Adds DeLuca “’Point Break’ wasn’t just a film, it was a Zen meditation on testosterone fuelled action and manhood in the late 20th century and we hope to create the same for the young 21st!” In addition to the feature rights, Alcon has also secured television and gaming rights to POINT BREAK. The Bigelow original, starring Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze and GaryBusey, was produced by Largo Entertainment and released by Fox.

To celebrate the release of Henry’s Crime released on DVD and Bu-ray 6th June, Entertainment Film have given us five copies of the movie to give away on Blu-ray.

Henry (Keanu Reeves) gets an unexpected wakeup call when he becomes an unwitting participant in a bank heist. Rather than give up the names of the real culprits, he takes the fall and discovers his true calling. Having done the time, Henry reasons he may as well do the crime. Discovering a forgotten tunnel connecting the bank to a nearby theater, he recruits his old cellmate Max (James Caan) to aid in the robbery, all the while playing the lead in the theatre’s current production where he finds himself falling for his leading lady, Julie (Vera Farmiga).

If you missed our interview with Keanu Reeves for the movie during it’s theatrical run, you can check it out here. To be in with a chance of winning the movie on Blu-ray, simply answer the foll0wing question using the form below:

Who plays the character Max Saltzman in Henry’s Crime?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 6th June 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

© 2010 Mimran Schur Pictures, LLC

The film adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic manga Akira has been in development for longer than anybody can remember.  WB has consistently struggling to rein in the film’s ever increasing budget while at the same time trying to place the film’s key players.  The most persistent problem of all though, has been finding the two actors needed for the roles of the film’s main characters Testuo and Kaneda.

Year after year we’ve seen WB’s misguided attempts to cast the roles with blockbuster actors that are both terrible fits, and well into their 30s.  The biggest scare of all came when Keanu Reeves was brought to the table.  Now I’ve always been an avid fan of the Matrix films and Reeves himself, but how could anybody in their right mind even consider him for this role?  Not to be mean or anything, but Reeves isn’t exactly known his dramatic depth, a quality needed to successfully pull off the role of Kaneda.

Fortunately for all parties concerned, Reeves has recently announced that he is separating himself from the project.  His departure appears to have set off a chain of events that has also led to the firing of the pre-visualization team for the film.  Once again, production is threatening to grind to a halt.

Fans of the original film and manga should see this all as a good sign.  The track that this film was heading on with Reeves in the forefront was hardly the right one.  Akira is supposed to be about teenagers, and having Steve Kloves rewrite the characters to fit older actors would be a terrible affront to the source material.  Even Kloves position as screenwriter and Albert Hughes as director probably merits some second thoughts.  If this film did get made with Reeves, it could feasibly be released around the same time as the next Bill & Ted movie, which could end up being a disastrous blow to Akira’s box office success.  The main thing WB needs to do now is scale back their budget and rethink it’s execution.  Eliminating the millions of dollars needed to pay somebody like Reeves, is naturally a move in the right direction

Some most excellent news (thanks for the heads-up Movie Web) has been delivered by Bill S. Preston, Enquire (aka Alex Winter) via his Twitter account.

Seems that the long-mooted script for the third instalment of those heavy metal-obsessed time travelling world saviours, Bill & Ted, is now with Winter! Penned by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon (who wrote the previous films) there’s no date as yet for production, but both the actor/filmmaker (currently at work on a remake of 80’s horror favorite The Gate) and his co-star Keanu Reeves, are said to very much up for it.

Reeves is currently filming samurai epic 47 Ronin, so let’s hope that this script is good enough to ensure he keeps his slate clear and pre-production can begin soon.

Few films are closer to my heart than the two Bill and Ted movies, I’ve said as much in one of my first posts on HeyUGuys and I can almost recall the script to Excellent Adventure should the need arise.

When we spoke to Keanu Reeves earlier in the year when the actor was promoting Henry’s Crime we did talk about his future projects and the rumours surrounding a third Bill and Ted film have been flying around for a while, and today brings a small amount of clarification to the status of the project.

Speaking to MTV Reeves revealed that the writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson were close to completing the script, six weeks away to be precise, and then I guess Messrs Reeves and Winter will get their hands on it and a decision will be made. The ending of Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey had our heroes begin their journey to save the world through their music and by being excellent to each other, what is being talked up now is that we would return to the two, now nearing their fifties, to see how far they have (or have not) lived up to the prophecies of George Carlin’s Rufus.

Here’s a snippet of what Reeves had to say,

When we last got together, part of it was that Bill and Ted were supposed to have written the song that saved the world, and it hasn’t happened…So they’ve now become kind of possessed by trying to do that. Then there’s an element of time and they have to go back,

Like the proposed third Ghostbusters film the notion of returning to characters instead of remaking or rebooting them is something Hollywood is coming around to, Oliver Stone did it recently with Gordon Gekko and Spielberg had Harrison Ford dust off his fedora, and there is a nostalgia and innocence to the Bill and Ted films that would mark it out in today’s self referntial Mobius strip of ideas and imagery.

Whether it’s a rock and roll roadtrip or a return to the high school based slackerdemia so endearing in the first film we don’t know. I’m hoping in six weeks time the delivery of the script kicks the project into motion – the world needs Bill and Ted.
Here’s the video,

And if you’re new to the world of San Dimas – here’s something to help you out.

Back in mid-January, Dave met with Keanu Reeves to discuss Henry’s Crime and also got an update from him on “47 Ronin”, which was known to be in development. You can refresh your memory on what Keanu said by clicking here.

We now have news from Universal Pictures that shooting is set to kick off very soon, on 14th March, for this Carl Rinsch-directed epic tale of a group of Ronin who seek revenge on the overlord who killed their master and banished them, while also looking to restore honor to their country.

Alongside Keanu as Kai, the cast includes Hiroyuki Sanada (Sunshine, The Last Samurai) as Oishi, the leader of the Ronin, Kou Shibasaki (Battle Royale, Go) as the daughter of their master, Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer, Mongol, the upcoming Thor and Battleship) as the overlord Kira and Rinko Kikuchi (Babel, The Brothers Bloom) as Mizuki.

With shooting underway in little more than a week, hopefully we’ll get some on set shots before too long.

Source: Latino Review.

**Update: Alas, it seems these rumours are complete rubbish. Head over to The Playlist who have confirmation that this story has no merit.***

In London town to promote Henry’s Crime Keanu Reeves has done the rounds with the press and when our very own editor Dave Sztypuljak sat down with the man himself a long list of possible future projects were named and Reeves gamely updated his involvement or shot down the rumours.

And while we were very pleased to know that Bill and Ted 3 is being written and that the actor is on board if it’s any good, there was one film series key to Reeves’ past success which was not mentioned – until now.

Taking part in a  Q&A at a London acting school (the original post doesn’t make it clear which) the actor gave the same updates he had given us, but then something unexpected happened. He mentioned the next two Matrix films. Someone in attendance made some notes and sent them to AICN (pointed to us by Bleeding Cool) and here’s what they said,

[Reeves] Says he met the Wachowski’s (no emphasis on the word brothers), for lunch over Christmas and stated that they had completed work on a two picture script treatment that would see him return to the world of the matrix as Neo.

Says the brothers have met with Jim Cameron to discuss the pro’s and con’s of 3D and are looking to deliver something which has never been seen again. keanu stated that he still has an obligation to the fans to deliver a movie worthy of the title “The Matrix” and he swears this time that the treatment will truly revolutionise the action genre like the first movie.

Wachowski’s are working on a movie called “Cloud Atlas” at the moment, once that concludes they will talk again.

It’s the first we’ve heard of a return to the Matrix which, despite two sequels which first ate The Matrix and then threw it up, remains a much loved movie. At the time the film was something very special and remains influential (Gnomeo and Juliet have a scene in which battling gnomes jump at each other in slow motion…) but we’ve naturally heard nothing from the Wachowskis nor anyone else involved on any future films in the series. This is an unconfirmed report, and may be useful only in gauging the appetite for another two Matrix films.

It’s a start though, and a return to the world to make good on the promise of the original film is no bad thing in my book – and in 3D? I can think of worse ways to see The Matrix Resurrected.

Earlier this week I got to speak to Hollywood legend, Keanu Reeves about his new movie, Henry’s Crime which is released in the UK tomorrow, 14th January and co-stars James Caan and Vera Farmiga. In the interview I asked him about how the project came about and how he found working on the screenplay as well as acting within it. I also asked him about distribution in the US & mainland Europe which seems to be sorted and it should be moving Stateside in April and over to Europe in the coming months.

Towards the end of the interview I was running low on time and I know hundreds of you had sent in questions for me to ask Mr Reeves. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to ask most of them but I did get updates on where we are with all the projects at the moment including 47 Ronin, Ode to Happiness & Bill & Ted 3.

Reeves is currently in London preparing for his new role in 47 Ronin which he mentions in this interview too.

Enjoy!

A couple of days ago we were the first to post the new trailer for Keanu Reeves’ new movie, Henry’s Crime and today Entertainment Films have sent over the poster. Henry’s Crime is set for release January 14th. We’re lucky enough to be interviewing Keanu next week so if you have any questions you’d like us to try and ask, please feel free to send them through or add them into the comments section below.

Henry’s Crime also also stars Vera Farmiga and James Caan and sees Henry (Reeves) escape from prison to commit the crime that he never committed in the first place!

Have a read of the synopsis below for more info or scroll down to view the poster.

Synopsis: Working the night shift as a toll collector on a lonely stretch of highway in Buffalo, New York, Henry (KEANU REEVES) is a man without ambition, dreams or purpose. He gets his wakeup call early one morning when he becomes an unwitting participant in an ill-conceived bank heist.

Rather than give up the names of the real culprits, Henry takes the fall and goes to jail. There, he meets the irrepressible Max (JAMES CAAN), a con man who’s grown far too comfortable with the familiarity and security of his ‘idyllic’ life behind bars. He’s not about to leave prison. But he helps plant an idea in Henry’s mind that will change his life forever.

Upon his release one year later, Henry finds his purpose. Having done the time, he decides he may as well do the crime. Discovering a long forgotten bootlegger’s tunnel, which runs from the very same bank to a theater across the alleyway, he recruits his reluctant former cellmate to stage a robbery. Their plan is simple: By infiltrating the theater and its current production of “The Cherry Orchard,” the unlikely duo will buy just enough time to dig their way to the bank vault and drive off into the sunset. Unfortunately, that plan also includes Henry taking the lead role in the play, where he finds himself slowly falling for the production’s mercurial leading lady, Julie (VERA FARMIGA).

Click the poster to enlarge.

Entertainment Film has just sent us the brand new trailer for Keanu Reeves’ new movie, Henry’s Crime. The movie also stars Vera Farmiga and James Caan and is released in UK cinemas 14^th January. From what you’ll see in this trailer, it looks rather amusing!

Synopsis: Working the night shift as a toll collector on a lonely stretch of highway in Buffalo, New York, Henry (KEANU REEVES) is a man without ambition, dreams or purpose. He gets his wakeup call early one morning when he becomes an unwitting participant in an ill-conceived bank heist.

Rather than give up the names of the real culprits, Henry takes the fall and goes to jail. There, he meets the irrepressible Max (JAMES CAAN), a con man who’s grown far too comfortable with the familiarity and security of his ‘idyllic’ life behind bars. He’s not about to leave prison. But he helps plant an idea in Henry’s mind that will change his life forever.

Upon his release one year later, Henry finds his purpose. Having done the time, he decides he may as well do the crime. Discovering a long forgotten bootlegger’s tunnel, which runs from the very same bank to a theater across the alleyway, he recruits his reluctant former cellmate to stage a robbery. Their plan is simple: By infiltrating the theater and its current production of “The Cherry Orchard,” the unlikely duo will buy just enough time to dig their way to the bank vault and drive off into the sunset. Unfortunately, that plan also includes Henry taking the lead role in the play, where he finds himself slowly falling for the production’s mercurial leading lady, Julie (VERA FARMIGA).

Henry’s Crime is directed by Malcolm Venville. Check out the rather new amusing trailer below.

News comes in from Coming Soon that action period adventure 47 Ronin will now be produced and released in 3D.

Keanu Reeves (who must be hoping for a Matrix-style career revival here) stars in the 18th century Japanese tale of a band of samurai swordsmen who set out on an epic journey to avenge the death of their master.

The film’s director is award-winning commercial Carl Rinsch (who was the original choice to helm the new Alien prequel) and judging by his previous work, from a visual point-of-view, this conversion should only help to enhance the work of this young, exciting visualist.

Whoa! The poster and synopsis for a new Keanu Reeves film has cropped up online at Collider, via the American Film Market (AFM).

The full size poster is below and here is the said synopsis:

generation Um…” follows a day in the life of John (Keanu Reeves) and his two beautiful cohorts, Mia and Violet, as they wander through their life, immersed in sex, drugs and indecision. When John steals a video camera, he finds inspiration in his directionless life. He turns the lens on Mia and Violet and the girls start to open up about their past and how it has informed their present lives. As they navigate their daily routine of bars, crowds and New York City living, they embark on a path of self-discovery.

Based in Santa Monica and founded in 1981, the American Film Market (AFM) is a place where industry figures turn up make deals, attend screenings, seminars, network and hold parties for eights day at the beginning of each November.

The Matrix star’s film is one of several hundred features hoping to get sold at the marketplace.

We reported here that as well as remaking 80s horror The Gate in 3D, Alex Winter was kicking around some ideas for another Bill & Ted film and now Keanu Reeves has gone on record as saying that he might be interested in revisiting the role.

Speaking to MTV (via Digital Spy), he reportedly said (when asked whether he would be in favour of returning to the franchise):-

“I’m trying, I’m trying. We’re trying. Alex and I are still friends and we’re talking, and we’re talking to Chris and Ed.

They’re going to try and see if they can write something. To me, I’d love to play the role. I’d love to work with Alex and Chris and Ed again.

We’ll see what they do. If it’s a film that can stand up on its own … and I’m meeting people now, they’ve shown the film to their kids…We just seek to entertain, and if that could be something that could be worthwhile, on its own …

MTV then asked him if he was joking and he said he wasn’t. Not much to go on, admittedly, but enough of a tease to persuade us that it might happen.

Personally I would love to see Keanu and Alex return as middle-aged slackers, especially given how po-faced much of Reeves output has been more recently. After Constantine, A Scanner Darkly and The Day the Earth Stood Still, it would be nice to seem him quite literally let his hair down a bit.

File this one under “wild speculation” for the moment. Of course we’ll let you know as soon as anything more concrete makes its way to us. 

Yes, that is indeed the title of the movie!  just need to make sure I put the right number of full-stops in it! Variety are reporting this afternoon that Neo himself, Keanu Reeves is to star in a new indie drama called “Generation Um…” which stars shooting in New York on Thursday (that’s today?!).

According to the trade paper:

The movie follows a day in the life of Reeves’ character and his two cohorts as they live life on the fringe, immersed in sex, drugs and indecision. As they navigate their daily routine of bars and crowds, they embark on a path of self-discovery.

It’s written and directed by Mark L. Mann (“Finishing Heaven”) and also stars Bojana Novakovic and Adelaide Clemens.

Head over to Variety for the full low-down.

In a most excellent move, Ain’t It Cool have posted an interview with one half of the Wyld Stallyns, Mr Bill S. Preston, Esquire himself, Alex Winter.

Winter (who has chosen to spend most of his career behind the camera, helming both films and music videos) has revealed in a Q&A following a screening of both adventures of the time-travelling/world saviour airheads, that himself, Keanu and writer Ed Solomon have “been kicking ideas around” for a possible third entry into the Bill & Ted series.

Out of all the older franchises which are currently being suggested for possible reboots or sequels, the further adventures of Bill & Ted sounds one of the most intriguing. The fact that Reeves and Winter are now middle-aged (both are 45!) has much comic potential in itself, and seeing these once goofy teenage wannabe rock stars dealing with that could be very humorous, and touching even.

Now would also be a good time to strike, given the whole eighties nostalgia vibe which seems to be particularly popular in Hollywood at the moment.

This is extremely early days for fans to start getting excited, but we’ll keep you informed if we hear any further developments.

Until then, be excellent to one another.

The Playlist have posted a new clip from Henry’s Crime, and follows on from the images we posted the other week, here.

Henry’s Crime was directed by Malcom Venville from a script co-written by Sacha Gervasi and David N. Wright. The film stars Keanu Reeves, James Caan, Vera Farmiga, Judy Greer, Peter Stormare, Fisher Stevens and Bill Duke.

The full synopsis for Henry’s Crime, courtesy of the TIFF website, is as follows:

A gem of a comedy that consistently surprises, ‘Henry’s Crime’ boasts marquee stars playing beautifully between the hum of ensemble acting and bright flashes of movie-star thrills. Keanu Reeves plays Henry, an unfulfilled man in Buffalo, New York. He sleepwalks through his job at a highway toll booth and his drab life at home. When he stumbles across the scene of an armed robbery, it’s no surprise that he’s swept up by the police, who mistake him for one of the robbers. Unable to muster the spirit to put up a fight, Henry soon finds himself behind bars.

Luckily, his cellmate is Max (James Caan), a career criminal who teaches Henry a thing or two about how to take what you want from life. By the time Henry finishes his sentence, he’s a new man. Now he figures that since he did the time, he might as well do the crime. So Henry and Max decide to rob a bank. Just then, he’s hit by a car. Out pops Julie (Vera Farmiga), the local Buffalo lottery girl from TV. It just so happens she’s also an amateur actress.

It’s here that Henry’s Crime leaps into the staccato rhythms of romantic comedy. The best way into the bank vault is to dig a tunnel from the old theatre across the street. But the theatre is occupied by a small company rehearsing a production of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard in which Julie is, coincidentally, starring. So although Henry has never acted before, he has to find a way to join the cast, get the money and win the girl.

Watch the clip, featuring Henry (Reeves) and Max (Cann), below:

Henry’s Crime will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, where it will hopefully secure a distribution deal.

The Playlist have posted the first three official images from Henry’s Crime, directed by Malcolm Venville.

Henry’s Crime was co-written by Sacha Gervasi and David N. Wright. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, James Caan, Judy Greer, Peter Stormare, Fisher Stevens and Bill Duke.

Synopsis: After serving three years in prison for a bank robbery he did not commit, an amiable but aimless man (Reeves)decides to rob the bank for real. His plan involves infiltrating a local theatre company, but his scheme gets complicated when he falls for the company’s lead actress (Farmiga).

In an interview with The Playlist, conducted last year, Gervasi said of the film, “It’s a twisted romantic comedy, very dark and funny and Keanu is the lead. [he] plays a Buffalo toll both attendant in the middle of an existential crisis.”

Check out the three images below:

Henry’s Crime will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where it should score a distribution deal.

Many things can make a great opening scene.

A film can open with a shock, a fast paced action sequence, a gripping voice-over, a moment of comedy or so many other possibilities. Opening scenes can help define your experience with a film and the best opening scenes can pin you to your seat excited about what the next two hours may bring.

In a new and occasional feature the writers at HeyUGuys will select some of their favourite opening sequences and talk about why they love them so much. We’d also love you to get involved so feel free to leave comments or contact us in all the usual ways to let us know what your favourites are.  The third opening sequence in our series is one that left me breathless and is one of my favorites.

When asked a while back what my favorite most memorable opening scenes were,  two immediately popped  into my mind.  The Matrix was one of them and the one I’m going to focus on here.

I remember going to see The Matrix in the theater right when it was released.  I didn’t know very much about it other than it was science fiction (that sold it for me) and that it starred Keanu Reeves.  I went into the film thinking it was just going to be more sci-fi shlock and it was just going to be bad, bad, bad.  I distinctly remember being completely flabbergasted at that first 5 minutes.  I then turned to my friend and said “Ok, this might not be so bad after all.”

The film starts with a group of police officers converging down a dark hallway, approaching a door.  After kicking in the door they enter a dark room to find a woman, who we find out is Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) , clad in leather, or actually it looks more like vinyl, sitting at a desk in front of a computer.  The only light in the scene is provided by the flashlights being held by the police.  The shot cuts and begins to pan up from behind the monitor so we see Trinity’s face and the light behind her as she raises her hands.

Meanwhile outside, the police are greeted by what looks to be agents.  The lead officer in charge informs the agents he has teams in place and they are bringing her down to which the agent replies his men already dead.  Cut back to the interior and we find out exactly what the agent meant as we watch in awe how Trinity quickly and efficiently dispatches the officers.

The fight scene and subsequent foot chase scene are really what set this opening scene and film as a whole, apart from anything else at the time.  Trinity’s hang time shot set a precedent for what the rest of the film would deliver.  The following rooftop foot chase scene is pure brilliance.  The shot as the chasing agent jumps the gap between buildings and lands on one knee with his gun drawn is one of my favorite shots.  It halts the scene for just a second, before continuing on at a hectic pace.

Diving off the top of a building, through a window, rolling down a set of stairs landing on her back with guns drawn showed yet one more strong female character that was capable of taking care of herself.  This opening scene put Trinity in the upper echelon of female action characters normally reserved for Ripley and Sarah Connor.  The scene finally ends with Trinity running into a phone booth to pick up the receiver.  Turning around to see a diesel truck headed her way she puts her hand up to the glass just as the truck drives the phone booth into the wall.

I really think this scene is flawless.  By the end of the scene you know you’re in for something special.  This film came out at a time when special effects were getting really good, but along came The Matrix and with it, the WOW factor.  The Wachowski’s had made this cutting edge film and re-set the bar.  The darkness of the scene lends to the mystery of the scene as well.  Who is she? How can she move like that?  Why is the law after her?  What the heck did I just see?!?! It leaves you with questions and makes you want to stay so you can find the answers.  Most of all, it grabs you by the collar and gets your attention right from the start.  That, my friends, is what an opening scene is supposed to do.

The following films in the trilogy may not have lived up to the first, but that opening scene in The Matrix will always top my list and I will never forget that feeling of seeing it for the first time.