ScreenCrave.com » donald sutherland

The Eagle: Movie Review

Krystal Clark — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 02:00:36 +0000

Kevin Macdonald steps into Old World Britain for his latest film The Eagle, which stars Channing Tatum in his first real period piece. Tatum with an accent is a big deal. The actor plays a young Roman general who’s on a quest to restore honor to his family’s name after a horrific event that occurred decades earlier under his father’s leadership.

The Players:

Director: Kevin Macdonald
Screenwriters: Jeremy Brock, Rosemary Sutcliff (book)
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Tahar Rahim, Denis O’Hare
Cinematography By: Anthony Dod Mantle
Original Music By: Atli Örvarsson

The Plot:

The film is based on the book The Eagle of the Ninth, which was written by Rosemary Sutcliff and takes us into the dangerous world of second-century Britain. The premise of the film centers on a Roman officer, Marcus Flavius Aquila (Tatum), as he tries to discover the truth about the disappearance of his father’s ninth legion in Northern Britain.

The Good:

The Action: Kevin Macdonald did a great job of shooting the action in this film. In a lot of war movies, especially ones with sand and swords, it’s hard to see what’s happening in battle. Everything looks like a big cluster of metal and flesh. In The Eagle, everything is very clear and straight to the point.
Cinematography: This goes along with the direction, but the cinematography was stunning. Not only did the camera get into the nooks and crannies of the fight scenes, but it also highlighted the beautiful landscape of the country side.

The So-So:

Channing Tatum: Not great but not horrible either. Tatum isn’t known for his amazing acting skills but he pulled of a surprisingly mediocre performance, which for him is a step up. Get it, Step Up?

The Bad:

The Accents: In a recent interview, Tatum claimed that Macdonald made a conscious decision to have the Roman soldiers speak with American accents. Tatum initially fought against the idea but in the end, felt that it was the right decision. Unfortunately, I disagree. Romans with American accents is 10 times more annoying than Romans with British accents. During the time that this film takes place the New World hadn’t even been discovered.
Roman Soldiers: Speaking of the soldiers, they were terribly cast. There’s nothing wrong with the actor’s talent but none of them physically looked the part. They were all small and middle aged men. I’m not saying they should look like the cast of 300 but they shouldn’t look like stray cats either.

Overall:

The Eagle isn’t an epic Roman war film and it doesn’t try to be. It has some problems but if you’re into movies that add fantastical elements to historical events, you’ll like it.

Rating: 7/10

The Eagle opens in theaters on February 11th.

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Will you be seeing The Eagle this weekend?

New Poster and Trailer for The Mechanic

Krystal Clark — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:20:01 +0000

Do you remember that old Charles Bronson assassin flick, The Mechanic? The film was released in 1972 and is one of the many films that the actor was known for over the course of his long career. But like everything else these days, the movie had to be remade and they’re switching out Bronson for Jason Statham. CBS Films has just released a poster for the flick as well as a new trailer. Check it out and see if it measures up to the original…

In The Mechanic, Arthur Bishop (Statham) is an elite assassin with a strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets. It’s a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and Bishop is the best in the business. But when his mentor and close friend Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached. His next assignment is self-imposed – he wants those responsible dead. His mission grows complicated when Harry’s son Steve (Ben Foster) approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop’s trade.

Even though this trailer is filled with cliched dialogue it’s a lot better than the earlier versions that the studio released. The one shot where Foster is holding a gun up to a door, with an unsuspecting target on the other end looked pretty badass. He’s gonna get more than an eyeful once that trigger gets pulled.

Official Poster:

The Mechanic is directed by Simon West and is scheduled to hit theaters on January 28.

What do you think of the latest trailer and poster for The Mechanic?

Source: Moviefone, MSN

Jason Statham, Ben Foster in The Mechanic Trailer

Krystal Clark — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:33:51 +0000

Among all the crazy new info that’s popped up online during ShoWest and SXSW, somehow a trailer for Jason Statham and Ben Foster’s new film slipped through the cracks. Don’t get me wrong, I heard about The Mechanic months ago but there was no countdown for the trailer which apparently was released today. What’s up with that?

The Mechanic is a remake of the seventies action film that starred the late Charles Bronson (Magnificent Seven alum woot woot!). The story centered on a former hitman who takes a youngster under his wing as an apprentice in the game of death (no pun intended). The student in question is played by Foster, while Donald Sutherland stars as his father and Statham’s handler. The Mechanic will be directed by Simon West and is scheduled for a theatrical release on December 15, 2010.

Before viewing the trailer you should know there are some shots that are NSFW. Other than that, this looks like a standard Jason Statham action flick, but Foster is the selling point for me. His character is the only one that doesn’t seem one dimensional, plus he’s a talented actor. Check it out for yourself…

What do you think of the first trailer for The Mechanic?

New Eagle of the Ninth Photos

Krystal Clark — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:00:55 +0000

It’s been a while since we’ve seen or heard anything from the upcoming epic film, The Eagle of the Ninth. Perhaps it has something to do with Channing Tatum starring as the lead, but we can’t know for sure. The film also features a mature Jamie Bell and acting vet Donald Sutherland in a supporting role. Over at Yahoo, they’ve release six new photos from the film so lets take a look…

The Eagle of the Ninth is set in the dangerous world of second-century Britain. In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Amongst all the drama, he meets and is accompanied by a British slave named Esca, who will be played by Bell, while Sutherland will come into the picture as Marcus’ uncle Aquila, who has retired in Britain.

I’m one of the many people who is weary of Tatum’s casting in this film due to his level of acting skill. He’s carrying a pretty large film that’s filled with a talented supporting cast. This isn’t Step it Up or G.I. Joe, these people are actually good. It also burns a bit to see Jamie Bell mutating into an adult before my eyes. Billy Elliot was a long time ago, but can any of us really think of him as anything else but that little guy?

Here are the latest photos from Eagle of the Ninth...

Does Tatum look the part? What about Bell’s character?

Donald Sutherland and Ben Foster Join The Mechanic

Krystal Clark — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:56:39 +0000

I love Donald Sutherland, but sometimes I question the projects he involves himself with. According to Variety, Sutherland along with Ben Foster have signed on to co-star in the Jason Statham film, The Mechanic. As you can imagine it’s an action oriented feature, and it’s a remake.

The original Mechanic hit theaters in 1972 and starred the original gangster Charles Bronson as the lead character. The film centered on a former hitman who takes a youngster under his wing as an apprentice in the game of death (no pun intended). The student in question will be played by Foster, while Sutherland will take on the role of his father and Statham’s handler. The Mechanic will be directed by Simon West and is scheduled to start production in New Orleans in the next few weeks.

I really don’t know what to say about this, because so much is wrong here. Once again Jason Statham is sticking to his winning formula when it comes to choosing his roles. I’m not surprised by his involvement, and Ben Foster isn’t that much of a stretch either, but Donald Sutherland, why? If he can make his character a mangy old man doesn’t take crap from anybody, I can get down with it, but otherwise, meh.

What do you think of Ben Foster and Donald Sutherland Joining The Mechanic?

Eagle of the Ninth Begins Production

Mali Elfman — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:15:12 +0000

How did this little film starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, and Mark Strong, written by BAFTA Award-winning screenwriter Jeremy Brock (The Last King of Scotland) and directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald slip by us for so long? We didn’t even hear about them casting Eagle of the Ninth, but everything is set and the crew is currently on location in Hungary and Scotland, and they have begun filming!

The film was adapted for the screen by Brock, off of Rosemary Sutcliff’s classic novel of the same name. For more on the story keep reading…

The Eagle of the Ninth is set in the dangerous world of second-century Britain. In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (played by Mr. Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth.

Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Mr. Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian’s Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia – to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the lost legion’s golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth. Mr. Sutherland portrays Marcus’ uncle Aquila, who has retired in Britain; Mr. Strong is cast as Guern, an ex-soldier who holds crucial information about the Ninth.

Sounds kind of Lord of the Rings-ish, but with it’s own twist. Personally, with all the impressive talent behind the film, I don’t need to know what it’s about, just when it will be in theaters.

How about you? Are you excited for Eagle of the Ninth?

Astro Boy Full Length Trailer

Krystal Clark — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:00:02 +0000

A new trailer has been released for the upcoming CGI animated film, Astro Boy. It’s the same video that premiered at this year’s Comic-Con, and I can tell you from that experience it’s pretty awesome. The film stars Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland, and oddly enough Nicolas Cage. Why is he in everything lately? They’ve already released a couple of teasers for Astro Boy but this one is the real deal.

Check out the full theatrical trailer after the jump…

Astro Boy hits theaters on October 23, 2009, and is directed by David Bowers.

What do you think of the theatrical trailer for Astro Boy?

ScreenCrave.com » donald sutherland

The Eagle: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The So-So:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 7/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Related Posts

New Poster and Trailer for The Mechanic

Related Posts

Jason Statham, Ben Foster in The Mechanic Trailer

Related Posts

New Eagle of the Ninth Photos

Related Posts

Donald Sutherland and Ben Foster Join The Mechanic

Related Posts

Eagle of the Ninth Begins Production

Related Posts

Astro Boy Full Length Trailer

Related Posts