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Speed Racer (2008) More at IMDbPro »
2009 | 2008 | 2007
1-20 of 246 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
Susan Sarandon at Stockholm Film Festival
29 November 2009 8:14 PM, PST | Alternative Film Guide | See recent Alternative Film Guide news »
Susan Sarandon, the star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Pretty Baby, Atlantic City, Thelma & Louise, Lorenzo’s Oil, The Client, and one of the leads in Peter Jackson’s upcoming The Lovely Bones, was honored with the 2009 Stockholm Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Sarandon, who won an Oscar for Dead Man Walking, was in Stockholm to receive her special Bronze Horse. Photo: Johan Gunnarsson Among Sarandon’s other screen credits are The Other Side of Midnight, Loving Couples, The Hunger, The Buddy System, The Witches of Eastwick, Bull Durham, Twilight (not the Robert Pattinson-Kristen Stewart vampire tale), Elizabethtown, The Greatest, In the Valley of Elah, Enchanted, Speed Racer, and the upcoming Peacock and Oliver Stone’s Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. Sarandon [...] »
- Joan Lister
Interview: James McTeigue, 'Ninja Assassin' (Part 1)
27 November 2009 4:15 PM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »
Director James McTeigue has been working on films since the late 1980s, back in his native Australia. He was second assistant director on Dark City and first assistant director on Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. He started working with Andy and Larry Wachowski as an assistant director on The Matrix, and they've been collaborating on projects together ever since. The Wachowskis wrote the first feature film helmed by McTeigue, V for Vendetta, and he provided second-unit direction on their most recent film, Speed Racer.
Ninja Assassin, which opened this week, is the latest movie McTeigue has directed, with the Wachowskis on board as producers. You can read William Goss's review for more details about the action/fantasy film. Cinematical sat down with the director in late September during Fantastic Fest, just after the movie played the festival. He was very pleased with the fest screening and happy to talk about the film. »
- Jette Kernion
Buzz Break: Into the Wild Eyes
27 November 2009 11:00 AM, PST | Movieline | See recent Movieline news »
· Any guesses on what command this Italian GQ Style photographer gave Emile Hirsch to get his cover shot? Click for bigger.
· Thor apparently has roughly ten thousand speaking parts, because it still isn't done with casting. This time, Hurt Locker breakout Jeremy Renner is being whispered about for Hawkeye, who'd appear in The Avengers as well.
· Popeater's got a list of the most forgotten Playboy celebrity centerfolds of all time.
· How did Susan Boyle celebrate her performance on Today this week? By retreating to a cafe to suck her thumb and start crying. Ooof.
· While dissecting the state of the Superman franchise, Anne Thompson investigates the rumor that the Wachowskis and protege James McTeigue were once attached: "It's hard to imagine such hard-r types taking on what one blogger described as the 'Big Blue Boy Scout.'" Yes, except that they made Speed Racer? »
Ninja Assassin Movie Review: Cutting All the Fun out of Martial Arts
27 November 2009 1:44 AM, PST | Slash Film | See recent Slash Film news »
I'm not going to over-simplify and proclaim that making a good ninja movie is the easiest thing in the world. But I never would have guessed that doing so is as difficult as James McTeigue's Ninja Assassin makes it appear. This is a big-budget movie with a top-flight crew and a star blessed with undeniable magnetism, not to mention the R-rated freedom to provide the copious blood and gore that so many genre fans crave. Yet it plays no better than a cheap direct to DVD feature. Ninja Assassin is a forgettable throwaway, a waste of creative talent and the audience's time. Like a relic from old Hollywood, only with a lot more blood, the film exists as a would-be star-making vehicle for the Korean actor/pop star Rain, who impressed the Wachowskis and producer Joel Silver while working on Speed Racer. The biggest surprise of this film is that, »
- Russ Fischer
James McTeigue Interview, Ninja Assassin
26 November 2009 8:00 PM, PST | MoviesOnline.ca | See recent MoviesOnline news »
We sat down recently with director James McTeigue to talk about his new film, “Ninja Assassin,” based on a screenplay by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski, and starring Korean pop star Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Rick Yune and legendary martial arts performer Sho Kosugi.
As a boy in Sydney, McTeigue was exposed to a variety of world cinema and television and was heavily influenced by ninja television shows like "Shintaro" and "Phantom Agents," and by films such as "Shinobi No Mono." He graduated from Sydney University, where he studied art and film.
McTeigue made his directorial debut helming the iconoclastic screen adaptation of the graphic novel "V for Vendetta." He came to the project through his relationship with the Wachowski brothers, for whom he served as the assistant director on all three "Matrix" films. His other previous film credits as an assistant director include "Speed Racer" and "Dark City. »
Ninja Assassin Review
25 November 2009 9:06 PM, PST | ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news »
Short Version: Ninja Assassin has many flaws; however, the ninjas are not one of them. All of the ninja action in this film is awesome, and for fans of the genre that’s probably enough.
Screen Rant’s Paul Young reviews Ninja Assassin
Ninja Assassin is the first action movie this Fall that delivers on what it promises: Lots of ninja action.
I’m a sucker for a good ninja fight, no matter how choreographed it is. The silent-but-deadly ninja was a huge part of the 80’s action movie sub-culture; since I grew up in the 80’s, I have seen every one that I can get my hands on (yes that includes American Ninja, I, II, III, IV And V). Ninjas doing what they do best (being sneaky) have slowly crept into popular culture over time. Mythbusters did an entire episode on ninja myth and lore and the website AskANinja. »
- Paul Young
[Interview] Rain on Ninja Assassin
25 November 2009 3:52 PM, PST | Atomic Popcorn | See recent Atomic Popcorn news »
When I was offered to participate in a roundtable with the (overseas) famous pop star Rain I didn’t really know anything about him. Didn’t know he was a musician or the fact that he has some intense fans. To me, he was just the minor character in Speed Racer and the upcoming star of Ninja Assassin. That changed a little bit when Rain arrived at the screening I attended. It became obvious that he was quite popular due to the plenty of rabid fans that were there, which all came off as quite creepy. With all that said, here’s what Rain had to say about Ninja Assassin, which is now in theaters.
I believe you were at comic-con last year, was that fun?
Rain: Yes, it was fun. It was [a] great experience. I love comic-con.
Since you worked with James on Speed Racer was that were »
- JackGiroux
Review: Ninja Assassin
25 November 2009 2:15 PM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »
By: William Goss, reprinted from Fantastic Fest '09
One can't ask too much of a film called Ninja Assassin -- that's a given -- but James McTeigue's proper directorial follow-up to V for Vendetta does its damnedest to take that insta-pulp title and weave around it a worn-out tale of forbidden love, family betrayal, and government conspiracy. Complete with some hard-to-see fight scenes and some harder-to-hear dialogue, all delivered with a poker-straight face and capped off with some super-splattery kills, it's like a graphic novel adaptation with comic book punctuation, a film so flagrant in its fakery that it almost forgets to have any fun.
Raizo (Korean pop star Rain, of Speed Racer and "Colbert Report" fame) was once an orphan, raised by a secretive clan to, um, assassinate as, well, a ninja would. One forbidden fling and one shamed father later, and our pariah protagonist is off to »
- Cinematical staff
Rain and James McTeigue Talk Ninja Assassin
25 November 2009 9:02 AM, PST | Twitch | See recent Twitch news »
Our thanks to Diva Velez for the following interviews with Ninja Assassin star and director Rain and James McTeigue.
The Lady Miz Diva: Ninja Assassin is a really violent, bloody film. Were you concerned that so much of your fan base, which consists of younger kids and people who might not usually go to this type of movie, wouldn't be able to see your big Hollywood film?
Rain: Yeah, I know, but it's gonna be huge. I believe they will like my movie. I am a little bit worried, but it's something different from what I've done, so it's interesting that way. And I believe more male fans will be interested in this movie.
Lmd: Raizo is a full of a lot of rage. What did you find inside yourself to create that constant anger he feels?
R: Well, before the shooting the Wachowskis and James McTeigue always »
Restricted Ninja Assassin Trailer
25 November 2009 7:02 AM, PST | Filmofilia | See recent Filmofilia news »
We have added a new restricted trailer for upcoming “Ninja Assassin“
The martial arts extravaganza follows Raizo (Rain), one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge.
The film stars Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Rick Yune, legendary Sho Kosugi (Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja), a Japanese martial artist with training in ninjutsu, as the ruthless leader of the Ozunu Clan.
“Ninja Assassin” is produced by the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix, Speed Racer) and directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta). It is scheduled to hit theaters November 25, 2009.
For more movie info, trailers, photos and »
- Allan Ford
Ninja Assassin Movie Review
25 November 2009 4:41 AM, PST | Atomic Popcorn | See recent Atomic Popcorn news »
After experiencing a too-brief period of popularity in the late 70’s and early to mid-80’s, the ninja is returning to the movies. And why not? If vampires can make a comeback, surely these shadowy warriors can do the same. Unfortunately, James McTeigue’s Ninja Assassin, produced by the action-loving Wachowski brothers, is not the kind of film likely to put them back on top.
It all starts well enough. The film’s opening scene, featuring an arrogant Yakuza youth discovering an envelope of black sand in a tattoo parlor and being subsequently taken out, is visceral and exciting. Flashes of shadow and light play exquisitely across the screen, and for a few brief moments the film behaves like horror, with unknown assailants striking with bloody accuracy from the darkness. I was excited; after following all those cheesy ninja pictures from my youth, could this one have gotten it right? »
- Nathan Bartlebaugh
Exclusive: Director James McTeigue on the Wachowskis, Superman, Edgar Allen Poe, Ninja Assassin, Magneto, and a Lot More!
24 November 2009 9:56 PM, PST | Collider.com | See recent Collider.com news »
A few days ago I attended the Los Angeles press junket for director James McTeigue’s Ninja Assassin. While I already posted my four minute video interview with McTeigue and Rain (the lead in Ninja Assassin), I was able to get some extra time with McTeigue the following day. Since I’m a huge fan of V for Vendetta and his work with the Wachowskis on Speed Racer, I decided to use my extended interview to ask about his other projects and home video questions.
So after the jump I try and get James McTeigue to tell me what the Wachowskis are working on, his next project on Edgar Allen Poe (The Raven), the Superman and Magneto rumors, what’s on the Ninja Assassin DVD/Blu-ray, could Hugo Weaving be in his Edgar Allen Poe movie, his thoughts on Star Wars (he was second unit director on Episode Two), extended edition DVDs, »
- Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub
The Reject Report Walks Old Dogs and Hunts a Fox
24 November 2009 9:34 PM, PST | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »
Well, we got through the Twilight: New Moon predictions without any of the Twilight fans hating me too much, so with that out of the way it is on to the Thanksgiving weekend predictions here at the Reject Report. This weekend we have the expansion of The Fantastic Mr. Fox as well as two new wide releases Old Dogs and Ninja Assassin. These three open Wednesday and I'm going to predict how they will do and look ahead to see what the Friday-Sunday period has in store. In the end New Moon wound up with a little over $142 million for its weekend opening, and frankly I don't see how it can be topped this coming week either. Even if it drops 50 percent it makes 71 million. I think the drop will be steeper than that, but I think this still makes it to $50 million this holiday weekend. How the heck are these other movies going to compete with »
- John Cairns
2nd Joel Silver Interview Ninja Assassin. Plus Info on Dark Castle Projects, Remakes, Sherlock Holmes, More
24 November 2009 8:49 PM, PST | Collider.com | See recent Collider.com news »
At last weekend’s press junket for Ninja Assassin, I had the opportunity to speak with producer Joel Silver twice. The first time was an exclusive TV interview, and the second time was during a roundtable interview the following day. While I normally would be happy to use just one of the interviews, since Joel Silver is producing so many high profile projects (Lobo, Sgt. Rock, The Apparition), I knew getting to speak with him twice would be a good thing.
Also, what a lot of people don’t realize is how much info a producer can tell you. While it’s always great to talk with an actor, unless you’re a Brad Pitt, most actors don’t have that much juice to get a project made. So that’s why getting to speak with Joel Silver is so great, because not only can he talk about all his projects that are getting made, »
- Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub
Exclusive Video: Rain and James McTeigue Talk Ninja Assassin
24 November 2009 8:09 PM, PST | MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news »
When Korean pop singer Rain, accepted a role in the Wachowski Brothers 2008 movie Speed Racer, he probably didn't realize how important that film would be to his career. While the film was not a box office success, it did introduce him to an American audience but more importantly, the film was an opportunity for the singer turned actor to work with the Wachowski Brothers. It was there, on set while shooting the ninja scenes for the film, where Rain's talent impressed the sibling directors and the idea for Ninja Assassin, opening in theaters November 25th, was born. With the star of the movie in place the brothers hired their long-time assistant director James McTigue, who directed the 2006 hit movie V For Vendetta, to direct the film while the Wachowski Brothers would produce with the legendary Joel Silver. We had an opportunity to speak with Ninja Assassin director James McTeigue and his star, »
Exclusive: James McTeigue Talks Ninja Assassin and The Raven
24 November 2009 4:11 PM, PST | DreadCentral.com | See recent Dread Central news »
Director James McTeigue has built the reputation of working on some of the more visually engaging projects over the last ten years - The Matrix, V for Vendetta and Speed Racer. So, the question is, will his latest project, Ninja Assassin, deliver on the visuals? The director seems to think so.
“I wanted to make sure the ninjas in this movie felt a little superhuman but still realistic,” explained McTeigue. “When making stylized action films, you can’t always use 100% of real-life logic. I mean, where’s the fun in that? But what I liked about what we did with Ninja Assassin was that we put together some really amazing, jaw-dropping action sequences but still made it feel like any of what you see on the screen could actually happen. I think balancing the two approaches worked really well for us.”
McTeigue himself was a huge fan of the 80s wave of martial arts films, »
- thehorrorchick
Ninja Assassin review
24 November 2009 11:56 AM, PST | QuietEarth.us | See recent QuietEarth news »
Year: 2009
Directors: James McTeigue
Writers: J. Michael Straczynski / Matthew Sand
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: rochefort
Rating: 5 out of 10
[Editor's note: Marina's Ninja Assassin review from Viff isn't much brighter]
Directed by James McTeigue, "Ninja Assassin" stars pop idol Rain as Raizo, a modern-day ninja. Kidnapped while still a child and trained in the ninja arts by Ozunu (Sho Kosugi), lord of the Ozunu Clan, Raizo, now grown up, rogue, and out for revenge against his old master, shows up in Western Europe soon after Mika (Naomie Harris), a Europol bookkeeper, starts uncovering the connections between supposedly mythological ninja clans and political assassinations throughout the ages. Against the wishes of her skeptical superior Maslow (Ben Miles), Mika follows the clue trail far enough to become a target. Soon after the clan sends a group of ninjas, led by Raizo's old rival Takeshi (Rick Yune), to kill her, and Raizo becomes her only chance for survival.
Ninjas, man. There was a »
Ron Says 'Ninja Assassin' Really Has Little To Do With Ninjas
24 November 2009 6:43 AM, PST | LatinoReview | See recent LatinoReview news »
Though films with substance can be the most memorable, now and then a decent movie that invites you to check your brain at the door can be rewarding. The problem is those types of films have to be somewhat decent and they are getting pretty rare nowadays. The last action film I saw that asked me to throw logic out the window and was still entertaining was Timur Bekmambetov's “Wanted' and since then hyper-kinetic films of the genre have got dumber and dumber. 'Ninja Assassin' is no exception. It's actually one of those movies you want to succeed, because its tough to remember when was the last time we got a decent ninja flick which is a poorly developed genre. I never though I'd write this, but 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' comes to mind and I'm talking the recent CGI version, not men in ridiculous Muppet suits. »
Ninja Assassin Review
24 November 2009 6:00 AM, PST | Twitch | See recent Twitch news »
Ninjas exist! They live in the mountains and are paid 100 pounds in gold by world governments to kill without mercy! Look at one of them the wrong way, or make any attempt to expose their ninja conspiracy and you will be sure to receive an envelope of black sand and forty shuriken through your heart. Fortunately plucky Europol (read: Interpol) librarian Mika (Naomie Harris) and ex-ninja, now ninja assassin Raizo (Rain) are on the case. You may ask, as I did, why Ninjas are so problematic in contemporary society, since it is made clear that the ninjas are tools of world governments and have no personal stakes in the assassination of Korean gangsters and corrupt government officials? Do they really deserve to be hunted down and massacred by para-military units? I mean aren't the governments hiring them the real root of the problem? And why does everyone, including ninjas, speak English in Germany, »
Trading DVD2Blu Not So Lucrative
23 November 2009 3:41 PM, PST | JustPressPlay.net | See recent JustPressPlay news »
Warner Brothers has launched a new service that sounds fantastic on paper but turns out to be useless in practice. On DVD2Blu.com, for a low price, you can trade up your old DVD for the Blu-ray equivalent. Sounds good, right? Except you're limited to only 55 barebones releases to select from, and you have to pay additional shipping and tax to get it delivered to you in 5 weeks. It adds up to not being worth the effort.
A standard order of one title will set you back $7.95 + $4.95 in shipping, for a total of $12.90. Some of the newer/biger releases (Body of Lies, Speed Racer, Superman Returns) are $9.95 a piece, for a total of $14.90. Not including tax, depending on where you are. The website says that you get free shipping if your order is more than $25, but that number is obviously a con, since in order to pass $25, you'd have »
- Arya Ponto
2009 | 2008 | 2007
1-20 of 246 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
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