In 1960′s Oklahoma the leather and denim-clad Greasers and the richer, preppy Soc’s (pronounced “So-shers”) are constantly and at times literally at each others throats. As their confrontations escalate, a tragic turn of events forces Greasers Johnny (Ralph Macchio) and Ponyboy (C. Thomas Howell) to flee the town and hide out, until further tragedy brings them back to town for a bitter-sweet reunion with family and friends.

*****

Like a proto-Brat Pack movie (Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Macchio, Howell, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon and Patrick Swayze all appear), The Outsiders comes loaded with expectation and baggage and it is a load it struggles to bear up under. Director Francis Ford Coppola was white hot off the back of an unprecedentedly successful decade that had given the world two Godfathers, one Conversation and an Apocalypse, working from a book that was apparently widely read and much beloved by those at Junior High and High School in the US.

The overall tale is in many ways familiar and typical, notwithstanding some unusual plot developments. Macchio’s Johnny is from a home where his parents are always fighting and arguing, Howell’s Ponyboy lives with his two older brothers (Lowe and Swayze) following the death of their parents, always anxious that child services will come to take him away if he gets into trouble. Dillon’s Dallas is the most worldly and rebellious of the gang, having got out early from a short stretch in prison.

There is an impressive evocation of time and space, with the drive-in cinema that author S.E.Hinton frequented as a teenager and used in the book being employed in one scene. The houses and parks all have a properly authentic and lived-in feel to them and all of the actors look the part, but somehow the film does not coalesce as a whole. Part of the problem is that the film has not aged well, with the more affected acting performances sticking out like a sore thumb and some of the dialogue is delivered as if it were far more profound than it really is. That is not to dismiss the film, its performances or script as being wholly without merit. Dillon acquits himself well and Howell conveys the more complex and subtle emotional arcs convincingly and a few choice lines do stay with you, but the film does not resonate in the same way as, for example, Stand By Me, perhaps because by being more specific and particular in its plot points it becomes more difficult to place yourself in the principals’ shoes.

There is a welcome realism and feasibility about the manner in which the story unfolds, but in this relatively new (first assembled for the 2003 DVD release) extended cut the pace does drag somewhat and the whole film feels too long by a good twenty minutes. Coppola maintains that the additions from the 90-minute theatrical release were necessary to restore the film to something more closely resembling the book, but that seems to make the mistake of treating the hallowed text as sacrosanct, rather than employing judicious pruning and editing to deliver a satisfying film instead of a rigidly adherent adaptation. Not a bad film by any means, but a disappointing and ultimately unsatisfying one. You can get it here now to rent or buy.

***~~ (3/5)

Extras: Although mostly carried over from the 2003 Special Edition, this is a bumper pack nonetheless:-

• Introduction and Audio Commentary by Coppola – interesting and affectionate for a film he clearly cherishes, with a helpful dissection of the changes brought in for the extended cut
• Cast commentary – Macchio, Swayze, Howell, Diane Lane, Dillon and Lowe all chip in. To be honest, with no screen-in-screen version, it becomes a little difficult to work out who is saying what and with Dillon and Lowe having recorded theirs separately there is some overlapping. It is a laudable editing job, but there is relatively little new insight and it feels a little crowded.
• Staying Gold – a retrospective making-of – interesting and informative
• Author S.E.Hinton on location in Tulsa – Hinton shares her recollections of the area she grew up in and on which she based the book
• Casting documentary – pretty interesting and insightful look at the casting process, who might have been involved but didn’t make the cut (Helen Slater, Dennis Quaid, Kate Capshaw etc) and how much time Coppola took to get the right combination of actors
• Seven cast members read from the book – unnecessary padding for an already perfectly adequate special features set
• NBC news feature from 1983 – grainy and dated but interesting
• Deleted / Extended Scenes and Trailer

****~ (4/5)

Fans of Neil LaBute may be pleased to learn that filmmaker Mike Figgis will be breaking his eight year absence from the big screen with Seconds of Pleasure, an adaptation of LaBute’s book of short stories which the playwright/director has penned for the long AWOL British director.

What’s more, the Leaving Las Vegas helmer has assembled an interesting line up, with the likes of Matt Dillon, Julia Stiles, Brendan Fraser, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Hendricks signing up for the tale of six different couples whose separate stories are intertwined in one drama.

It’s a welcome return for the director, and it’s interesting to note that both Figgis and Labute have a previous connection of sorts, as in the past, they’ve managed to bring out the very best and very worse of actor Nicolas Cage (in the aforementioned Oscar-winning tale of an alcoholic’s descent in that titular US city and the remake of The Wicker Man, respectively).

Via The Hollywood Reporter.

Kate Winslet (The Reader), Christoph Waltz (The Green Hornet), Matt Dillon (Takers) and Jodie Foster (The Brave One) will star in God of Carnage, a film adaptation of the hit play to be directed by Roman Polanski (The Ghost).

God of Carnage is about two sets of parents, one of whose child has hurt the other at a public park, who meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner. However, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening devolving into chaos.

Filming on God of Carnage will commence in February and last for twelve weeks.

The Playlist reported this one.

The screenshot which accompanies this post is taken from the new trailer for Takers and proves that if you gather a group of guys and blow up a helicopter behind them – they  really don’t look back.

It also proves that originality was probably on board that helicopter when it blew up, and the rest of the trailer is as inspiring. Not to say that it isn’t slick, but writer/director John Luessenhop has a wealth of talent for this film, so it seems a shame to place them lock, stock in a generic movie hole.

Two of The Losers, Zoe Saldana and Idris Elba, reunite along with Paul Walker, Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris, Matt Dillon, Jay Hernandez and Hayden Christensen and you’ll notice shades of almost every action movie in there too. If you’re a fan you might want to watch this as well.

Here’s the trailer, which Yahoo gave up without a fight.

Takers is out in the UK on the 17th of September, so now you know.

Sony have sent me their latest released, Armored on Blu Ray to review. The movie is directed by Nimród Antal and has an all-star cast which includes Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne, Milo Ventimiglia, Columbus Short, Skeet Ulrich and Fred Ward. This cast alone tells you the movie has the potential to be a good one but is it?

Well, I saw this movie in the cinema and when i reviewed it, I gave it an average rating, but one thing I did say was:

“I’d watch Armored again on DVD and would recommend you go and see it… if you like your action movies big, loud and bassy, then this one is for you!”

With that in mind, I have to say that my home viewing of Armored was spot on. With my surround sound cranked up to 11 and my beverage of choice in hand, I sat back and really enjoyed the movie. Armored is about a group of armoured car drivers / transporters who decide that it’s about time they steal the money that they’re transporting rather than just carrying from one bank to another. The only trouble is, the end goal doesn’t quite go to plan.

The DVD / Blu Ray comes with extra features which include:

• Producer and Cast Commentary
• Planning the Heist: Making Of
• Crash Course: Stunts
• Armed and Underground: Production Design

Only available on Blu-ray™

• movieIQ+sync and BD-Live connect you to real-time information on Armored’s cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie!

Armored is the perfect boys-night-in movie with a running time of 90 minutes, big action sequences, a good storyline and a great cast and is available for release on Blu Ray and DVD now.

I saw the trailer for Armored quite a while ago and it looked like my kind of film. Action from start to finish and a really good cast, but did it live up to my high expectations? Read on to find out…..

Armored (minus the ‘U’ cos it is American after all) is directed by Nimród Antal and has an all-star cast which includes Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne, Milo Ventimiglia, Columbus Short, Skeet Ulrich and Fred Ward. It starts off very much setting the scene from the word go and focuses around Ty (Columbus Short), an Iraq war hero who has a brother named Jimmy (Andre Kinney) who have both recently lost their parents. Ty is a good guy and takes his brother on as his legal guardian. Ty works for an armoured car company called Eagle Shield where his father used to work and since his death and has become friends with co-workers Mike Cochrone (Matt Dillon), Quinn (Jean Reno), Baines (Lawrence Fishburne), Palmer (Amaury Nolasco) and Dobbs (Skeet Ulrich). Cochrone takes Ty under his wing and ensures him that he’ll look after him ‘no matter what’.

Times are tough though and Ty is struggling to make ends meet with letters from the bank becoming more threatening and the task of looking after his teenage brother even more demanding – things are getting desperate. Cochrone comes to him with a solution that stealing $42m they are transporting is his only way out with the help of the rest of the team. Ty agrees as long as no one gets hurts, and as in all Hollywood movies, things don’t go as smoothly as they’d hope.

The first half of Armored, I got a little bored if I’m honest. I felt the plot was going on very predictably and I was by no means on the edge of my seat. The first bit of action if very early on in the movie and it was executed very well but I felt was very predictable. I wont tell you what happens incase you don’t guess! Armored is only 85 minutes long and because of that I felt the movie took ages to get going, but that said, half way through, the movie most definitely moved out of first gear.

The story changed from being predicable when the action started but the issue then was that it all became a little silly and unbelievable with secret compartments becoming evident in an armoured car and multiple other ways in which an armoured car could be penetrated + the fact that we never really understand how their initial getaway was going to work in the first place. Milo Ventimiglia turns up as the beef-eating cop to try and add some normality back into the story but soon he gets lost in the void of unrealism.

The cast all perform well but we know the calibre of Jean Reno and Lawrence Fishburne and this movie really doesn’t give them a chance to shine as they are more side-kicks than main cast. Matt Dillon does a good job playing the likeable bad guy and Columbus Short does a fantastic job as the movie’s lead when arguably he was the least known cast member. Moments of genius came from director Nimród Antal, my favourite being as Ty is running through a abandoned factory, seeing his head through hundreds of poles as the camera pans alongside him. That shot must have taken forever! The violence in the movie is mostly suggested to help keep the rating to 12a but I didn’t think this detracted from Antal getting the message across.

I’d watch Armored again on DVD and would recommend you go and see it but with Oscar season fast approaching, this one won’t be winning anything but if you like your action movies big, loud and bassy, then this one is for you!

Armored is released 22nd January (This Friday).

Here’s the new international trailer for a movie that I’ve not heard too much about since we posted the first trailer a poster a while back on HeyUGuys V1.0. It’s called Armored and it’s about a group of security workers who drive armoured trucks around. One day, one of them gets the bright idea that they could heist their own lorry and get away with the taking but it’s never that easy.

Armored has an all-star cast whic includes Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne, Amaury Nolasco, Fred Ward, Milo Ventimiglia and is directed by

From Walt Becker the director of Wild Hogs, here’s the new trailer for Old Dogs… I guess going forward we can expect to see the third in the *og trilogy soon!

Anyway, this movie brings John Travolta together with Robin Williams in a new Disney comedy which looks like it might be quite entertaining. It has a great supporting cast which includes Kelly Preston, Seth Green, Ella Bleu Travolta, Lori Loughlin and Matt Dillon.

I’ve embedded the trailer below and we can expect to see it 5th March 2010.

Two best friends — one unlucky-in-love divorcee and the other a fun-loving bachelor — have their lives turned upside down when they’re unexpectedly charged with the care of 7-year-old twins while on the verge of the biggest business deal of their lives. The not-so-kid-savvy bachelors stumble in their efforts to take care of the twins, leading to one debacle after another, and perhaps to a new-found understanding of what’s really important in life.