On your own red carpet. Uncut. Unedited. In their original aspect ratio, the way the director intended. Experience more original movies shot entirely in HD than any other network. Only on HDNet Movies.
Sometimes life gets in the way and HDNet Movies is there to provide exclusive Sneak Previews of new films before they hit theaters. So if you can't make it to a Landmark Theatre, you can watch it in the comfort of your own home.
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini Written by: Jonathan Ames, Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini Starring: Kevin Kline, John C. Reilly, Paul Dano, and Katie Holmes.
Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), is a penniless, wildly eccentric but brilliant playwright. When Henry's not dancing alone or singing operettas, he's performing - with great panache - the duties of an “extra man", a social escort for the wealthy widows of Manhattan high society. These two men, separated in age by more than forty years, develop a volatile mentor/apprentice relationship. Through a series of urban adventures, Louis and Henry form a memorable bond that bridges their differences.
See it before it’s in theatres. The Extra Man premieres On Demand June 25. Don’t miss the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview, July 30 at 8 pm ET.
The Oxford Murders
Directed by: Alex de la Iglesia
Based on the novel by Guillermo Martinez Starring: Elijah Wood, John Hurt.
An old lady is murdered in Oxford. Her body is discovered by two men who meet for the first time at that moment: Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), a prestigious professor of logic, and Martin (Elijah Wood), a young graduate student who has just arrived at the university hoping to study with Seldom. It quickly becomes clear that this is the first in a series of murders, all of which are announced by the murderer with strange symbols. Professor and student join forces to try and crack the code and thus begins an elaborate puzzle, in which nothing is at it seems, and the truth is elusive. As Martin gets closer to the facts, he feels increasingly insecure with his grasp on the world around him.
See it before it’s in theatres. The Oxford Murders premieres On Demand July 2. Don’t miss the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview, August 4 at 8 pm ET.
Centurion
Directed by: Neil Marshall Starring: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, and Olga Kurylenko.
Centurion is set during the war between Roman soldiers and Pict tribesmen during the 2nd century Roman conquest of Britain. Michael Fassbender stars as Quintus Dias, Roman centurion and son of a legendary gladiator who leads a group of soldiers on a raid of a Pict camp to rescue a captured general (Dominic West). The son of the Pict leader is murdered during the raid, and the Romans find themselves hunted by a seemingly unstoppable group of the Pict’s most vicious and skilled warriors, led by a beautiful and deadly tracker (Olga Kurylenko), and hell bent on revenge.
See it before it’s in theatres. Centurion premieres On Demand July 30. Don’t miss the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview, August 25 at 8 pm ET.
Previous HDNet Movies Sneak Previews
[REC] 2
Directed by: Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza Starring: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Javier Boter, and Pablo Rosso.
Directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza return for [REC] 2, maintaining the same claustrophobic concept or the original while finding new means of delivering scares to the audience. [REC] told the story of a quarantined apartment building infected with a ferocious virus that spread a terrifying form of demonic possession to the trapped inhabitants. [REC] 2 kicks off shortly after the events of the first film, when a medical officer and a SWAT team armed with video cameras are sent into the sealed off apartment building to try and neutralize the situation.
[REC] 2 was one of the July 2010 HDNet Movies Sneak Previews. Now available on demand from your cable or satellite provider and in theatres July 9th.
Ondine
Written and Directed by: Neil Jordan Starring: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Alison Barry, Derva Kirwan, and Stephen Rea.
Ondine is the story of Syracuse, a simple fisherman who catches a beautiful and mysterious woman in his trawler’s nets. The woman seems to be dead, but then she comes alive before Syracuse’s eyes and he thinks he may be seeing things. However, with the help of his ailing, yet irrepressible daughter, Annie, he comes to believe that the fantastical might be possible and that the woman (Ondine) might be a myth come true. Ondine and Syracuse fall passionately in love, but just as we think the fairytale might go on forever, the real world intercedes. Then, after a terrible car crash and the return of a dark and violent figure from Ondine’s past, hope eventually prevails and a new beginning is presented to Syracuse, Ondine and Annie.
Ondine was the June 2010 HDNet Movies Sneak Preview. Available on demand from your cable or satellite provider. In theatres now.
Survival of the Dead
Written and Directed by: George A. Romero Starring: Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, and Kathleen Munroe.
Immediately following the events of Diary of the Dead, Survival of the Dead is the 6th film from George A. Romero to look at a world where humans are in the minority and the zombies rule.
Off the coast of Delaware sits the cozy Plum Island where two families are locked in a struggle for power, as it has been for generations. The O'Flynns, headed by patriarch Patrick O'Flynn (Kenneth Welsh) approach the zombie plague with a shoot-to-kill attitude. The Muldoons, headed by Shamus Muldoon (Richard Fitzpatrick), feel that the zombies should be quarantined and kept "alive," in hopes that a solution will someday be found.
The O'Flynns, who are clearly outnumbered, are forced to exile Patrick by boat to the mainland, where he meets up with a band of soldiers, headed by Guardsman Sarge (Alan Van Sprang). They join forces and return to the island, to find that the zombie plague has fully gripped the divided community.
As the battle between humans and zombies escalates, the master filmmaker continues to reinvent the modern horror genre with wicked humor and pointed social commentary.
Survival of the Dead was the May 2010 HDNet Movies Sneak Preview. Available on demand from your cable operator and in theatres now.
The Good Heart
Written and Directed by: Dagur Kári Starring: Brian Cox and Paul Dano.
Brian Cox stars as Jacques, the curmudgeonly owner of a gritty New York dive bar that serves as home to a motley assortment of professional drinkers. Jacques is determinedly drinking and smoking himself to death when he meets Lucas (Dano), a homeless young man who has already given up on life. Determined to keep his legacy alive, Jacques deems Lucas is a fitting heir and takes him under his wing, schooling him in the male-centric laws of his alcoholic clubhouse: no new customers, no fraternizing with customers and, absolutely no women. Lucas is a quick study, but their friendship is put to the test when the distraught and beautiful April (Isild Le Besco) shows up at the bar seeking shelter, and Lucas insists they help her out.
The Good Heart was the April 2010 HDNet Movies Sneak Preview. Available on demand from your cable or satellite provider and in theatres now.
The Warlords
Directed by: Peter Ho-Sun Chan Starring: Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro.
Set in the midst of war and political upheaval during the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s, The Warlords stars Jet Li as General Pang, who barely survives a brutal massacre of his fellow soldiers by playing dead, and joins a band of bandits led by Er Hu (Andy Lau) and Wu Yang (Takeshi Kaneshiro). After fighting back attackers from an helpless village, the three men take an oath to become “blood brothers,” pledging loyalty to one another until death, but things quickly turn sour and the three men become embroiled in a web of political deceit, and a love triangle between Pang, Er Hu and a beautiful courtesan (Wu Jing-Lei).
The Warlords was an HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in March 2010. It's available on demand from your cable or satellite provider and in theatres now.
The Eclipse
Written and Directed by: Conor McPherson Starring: Ciarán Hinds, Iben Hjejle, and Aidan Quinn.
The Eclipse tells the story of Michael Farr (Ciarán Hinds), a teacher raising his two kids alone since his wife died two years earlier. Lately he has been seeing and hearing strange things late at night in his house. He isn't sure if he is simply having terrifying nightmares or if his house is haunted.
Each year, the seaside town where Michael lives hosts an international literary festival, attracting writers from all over the world. Michael works as a volunteer for the festival and is assigned the attractive Lena Morelle (Iben Hjejle), an author of books about ghosts and the supernatural, to look after. They become friendly and he eagerly tells her of his experiences. For the first time he has met someone who can accept the reality of what has been happening to him.
However, Lena's attention is pulled elsewhere. She has come to the festival at the bidding of world-renowned novelist Nicholas Holden (Aidan Quinn), with whom she had a brief affair the previous year. He has fallen in love with Lena and is going through a turbulent time, eager to leave his wife to be with her. But all Lena is trying to do is extricate herself from this mess and just get through the next few days.
As the festival progresses, the trajectories of these three people draw them into a life-altering collision.
Embellished by the supernatural, The Eclipse is a film about the challenges of love, fear of the unknown and release from the burden of grief.
The Eclipse is available On Demand and had its Sneak Preview on HDNet Movies in March of 2010. In theatres now.
District 13: Ultimatum
Directed by: Patrick Alessandrin Written by: Luc Besson Starring: Cyril Raffaele, David Belle, and Philippe Torreton
Two years have passed since elite police officer Damien Tomasso (Cyril Raffaelli) teamed up with reformed vigilante Leito (parkour originator David Belle) to save the notorious District 13, a racially charged ghetto populated by violent drug dealing gangs and vicious killers. Despite government promises to maintain order, the state of the district has deteriorated, and a group of corrupt cops and elected officials are conspiring to cause civil unrest in D13, looking for an excuse to raze the area and cash in on its redevelopment. Now Damian and Leito must join forces again, and use their mastery of martial arts and their unique physical skills to bring peace to the neighborhood by any means necessary… before a proposed nuclear air-strike wipes it off the map. With bone crunching fights and death defying leaps, this adrenaline charged sequel takes the groundbreaking parkour action from District B13 to thrilling new heights.
See it on HDNet Movies before it's in theatres or on DVD. District 13: Ultimatum had its HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in February 2010. In theatres now.
Wonderful World
Written and Directed by: Josh Goldin Starring: Matthew Broderick, Sanaa Lathan, Jodelle Ferland, and Michael Kenneth Williams.
A bittersweet comedy about families, friends and a frivolous fight against corporate institutions, Matthew Broderick plays Ben Singer, a failed children's folk singer, a newly unemployed proofreader and an every-other-weekend dad to his young daughter, who prefers pretty much anything to listening to her dad's pessimistic ramblings.
Struggling in all aspects of his life, Ben's only comforts come from smoking marijuana alone and regular chess games with his smart and opinionated Senegalese roommate Ibou. When Ibou is suddenly struck ill and an insensitive municipal employee exacerbates the emergency situation, Ben pours his energy into a lawsuit against the city for depraved indifference. Ben’s life begins to turn around with the arrival of Ibou’s beautiful and sexy sister Khadi from Senegal, who moves into Ibou’s room in Ben’s apartment. As Ben suspects that it is his own cynicism corroding the beauty around him, he realizes that it’s all a matter of perspective.
Wonderful World is written and directed by Josh Goldin and stars Matthew Broderick, Michael Kenneth Williams, Sanaa Lathan, Jodelle Ferland, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ally Walker, and Philip Baker Hall. It features original music with a cameo performance by acclaimed musician Dan Zanes, the noted father of the modern independent kids' music movement.
Wonderful World was the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in January 2010. On VOD and in theatres now.
Red Cliff
Directed by: John Woo Starring: Tony Leung Chiuwai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Fengyi Zhang
Legendary action cinema master John Woo and international superstar Tony Leung reunite with this epic historical drama set based on a legendary 208 A.D. battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty.
Red Cliff opens with power hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao seeking permission from the Han dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush two troublesome warlords that stand in his way, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao's fast approaching, brutal army, the rebel warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign unrivalled in history that changes the face of China forever. A massive hit in Asia and the most expensive Asian film production of all time, Red Cliff is a breathtaking war epic that marks the triumphant return of John Woo.
Red Cliff was an HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in November, 2009. In theatres now.
The House of the Devil
Written and Directed by: Ti West Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, AJ Bowen and Dee Wallace.
The House of the Devil is writer-director Ti West's 80s-period horror-thriller starring Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, AJ Bowen and Dee Wallace.
Donahue plays Sam, an attractive, broke college sophomore who answers an ad seeking a baby-sitter and ends up in a bloody fight for her life. Noonan and Woronov play Mr. and Mrs. Ulman, the couple that lures Sam into the house of the title just in time for a total lunar eclipse; Gerwig plays Sam1s best friend Megan, while Bowen plays the Ulman1s murderous son. Wallace makes a cameo as Sam1s landlady.
The House of the Devil was the HDNet Moves Sneak Preview in October of 2009. In theatres now.
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
Directed by: Tony Jaa Written by: Panna Rittikrai Starring: Tony Jaa, Sorapong Chatree, and Sarunyu Wongkrachang .
Set in medieval Thailand, this prequel features Ong Bak's Tony Jaa as a young nobleman who masters many martial arts disciplines in his journey of revenge. Expect stand-up-in-your-seat excitement as Jaa flies through the air; twisting, turning and demonstrating the utmost contempt for the laws of gravity. And now that he has added a full range of martial-arts styles to his repertoire, Jaa is twice as deadly and twice as exciting.
The first Ong Bak hit the world like a heat-seeking guided missile. A missile in the shape of Tony Jaa, touted as the new Bruce Lee and the can't-miss martial-arts superstar of his generation.
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning was the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview for October, 2009. In theatres now.
The Burning Plain
Directed by: Guillermo Arriaga Written by: Guillermo Arriaga Starring: Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, and Jennifer Lawrence.
From Guillermo Arriaga, acclaimed writer of Babel and 21 Grams comes The Burning Plain, a romantic mystery about three woman searching for love, hope, and second chances.
In Seattle, a high-end restaurant hostess (Oscar-winner Charlize Theron) is confronted by a stranger from Mexico and forced to face her mysterious past.
In Las Cruces, NM, a young girl (Jennifer Lawrence), finds forbidden love in the aftermath of her mother's sudden death.
In an abandoned trailer, a housewife (Oscar-winner Kim Basinger) embarks on a passionate affair with a married man that threatens to tear their lives apart. These seemingly disconnected stories of women's lives intertwine in a powerful and explosive collision course with destiny.
The Burning Plain is the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview for September, premiering at 8 PM ET on Wednesday, September 16th, with encore presentations the same night at 10 PM and midnight ET.
World's Greatest Dad
Directed by: Bob Goldthwait Written by: Bob Goldthwait Starring: Robin Williams, Alexie Gilmore, and Daryl Sabara.
Robin Williams stars in this hilariously profane, daring, black comedy about a well meaning single dad struggling to connect with the world's worst teenage son - a sex obsessed, foul mouthed, angry jerk.
World's Greatest Dad was the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in August 2009.
The Answer Man
Directed by: John Hindman Written by: John Hindman Starring: Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, and Kat Dennings.
Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, and Kat Dennings star in a hilarious romantic comedy about a reclusive, world-renown author who learns to embrace life again when he falls in love with a beautiful single mom.
The Answer Man was the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in July, 2009.
Surveillance
Directed by: Jennifer Lynch Written by: Jennifer Lynch and Kent Harper Starring: Bill Pullman, Julia Ormond, and Pell James.
It’s been a hell of a day on the highway.
When Federal Officers Elizabeth Anderson (Julia Ormond) and Sam Hallaway (Bill Pullman) arrive at Captain Billing’s office, they have three sets of stories to figure out and a string of vicious murders to consider.
One zealot cop, a strung out junkie and an eight year old girl all sit in testimony to the roadside rampage, but as the Feds begin to expose the fragile little details each witness conceals so carefully with a well practiced lie, they soon discover that uncovering ‘the truth’ can come at a very big cost…
Surveillance was the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview for June 2009.
The Girlfriend Experience
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh Written by: Brian Koppelman and David Levien Starring: Sasha Grey and Chris Santo.
Set in the weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election, The Girlfriend Experience is five days in the life of Chelsea (adult film star Sasha Grey in her mainstream film debut), an ultra high-end Manhattan call girl who offers more than sex to her clients, but companionship and conversation - "the girlfriend experience." Chelsea thinks she has her life totally under control-she feels her future is secure because she runs her own business her own way, makes $2000 an hour, and has a devoted boyfriend (Chris Santos) who accepts her lifestyle. But when you're in the business of meeting people, you never know who you're going to meet...
The twentieth film from Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh, The Girlfriend Experience is a sexy, gorgeously shot time capsule from the not-too-distant past.
The Girlfriend Experience was the May 2009 HDNet Movies Sneak Preview.
Mutant Chronicles
Directed by: Simon Hunter Written by: Philip Eisner Starring: Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, Devon Aoki, and Sean Pertwee.
In the year 2707, war rages between earth’s four giant corporations as they battle over the planet's dwindling resources. In an era marked by warfare and social regression, the earth is on the verge of ruin, destruction is everywhere; battles explode on every ravaged continent. Amidst heavy combat, an errant shell shatters an ancient buried seal releasing a horrific mutant army from its eternal prison deep within the earth. As the mutant scourge threatens human extinction, a single squad of soldiers descends into the earth to fulfill the ages-old prophesy of the Mutant Chronicles and save mankind.
Mutant Chronicles, directed by Simon Hunter and written by Philip Eisner, is an epic sci-fi/action thriller like no other. The film’s extraordinary ensemble cast includes Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, Devon Aoki, Sean Pertwee, Benno Fürmann, Anna Walton, Tom Wu, Steve Toussaint, Luis Echegaray, and John Malkovich.
"An entertaining, ambitious and visually striking sci-fi/horror epic!" –
Chris Alexander, Fangoria
Mutant Chronicles was the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in April 2009.
The Great Buck Howard
Written and Directed by: Sean McGinly Starring: Colin Hanks, John Malkovich, and Emily Blunt.
In the comedy The Great Buck Howard, recent law school dropout Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) answers an ad for a “Road Manager and Personal Assistant for Celebrity Performer,” thinking it will break him into the entertainment industry. In actual fact, he has signed on to work for Buck Howard (John Malkovich), a has-been magician trying to revitalize his waning career. With the help of a fiery publicist (Emily Blunt), Troy and Buck embark on a cross-country tour in hopes of staging the comeback of a lifetime.
The Great Buck Howard was the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in March 2009.
Two Lovers
Directed by: James Gray Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, and Isabella Rossellini.
Two Lovers is a modern-day romantic drama set in New York. It tells the story of Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix), an attractive, placid and depressed young man who moves back in with his parents (played by Isabella Rossellini and Moni Monoshov), following a recent heartbreak. An aspiring photographer, Leonard works part-time at his father’s dry-cleaners to save enough money to buy a camera. Meanwhile, his concerned parents try to set him up with Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the sweet and caring daughter of a close family friend. A big family dinner serves as their introduction and Leonard arranges to see her again.
But then late one night Leonard looks out his bedroom window and notices a ravishing young woman he has never seen before. Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow) recently moved into an apartment in his family’s building—an apartment that’s underwritten by the wealthy married man she’s seeing. Leonard is instantly attracted to Michelle, an attraction that quickly becomes an obsession. He ardently pursues her in the hope she will break-off her affair.
As Michelle begins to fall for Leonard and Leonard discovers hidden depths in Sandra, Leonard is forced to make an impossible decision...
Two Lovers had its HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in February 2009.
Yonkers Joe
Written & Directed by: Robert Celestino Starring: Chazz Palminteri, Christine Lahti, Tom Guiry, Linus Roache, and Michael Lerner.
Yonkers Joe is an exciting, high-stakes con film and moving family drama written and directed by Robert Celestino, and starring Academy Award-nominee Chazz Palminteri, Academy Award-winner Christine Lahti, Tom Guiry (The Black Donnellys), Golden Globe-nominee Linus Roache, and Academy Award-nominee Michael Lerner.
An ode to old time gamblers, now outdated in an age of powerful upscale casinos, Yonkers Joe tells the story of a dice hustler (Palminteri) whose determination to make one last grab for a big score in Vegas is complicated by the reappearance of his estranged, mentally challenged son into his life.
Yonkers Joe had its HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in January 2009.
Special
Written & Directed by: Hal Haberman & Jeremy Passmore Starring: Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck, Robert Baker, Jack Kehler, Alexandra Holden, Ian Bohen, and Christopher Darga
Les Franken (Michael Rapaport) is an average Joe who participates in a clinical drug trial and ends up convinced that he is a superhero. Les creates a new kind of underdog crime fighter for our chemically enhanced times.
Reviews
"...fans of Rapaport are in for a huge treat." - Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
"uproarious and always poignant comedy"..."a moving and pertinent parable for our medicated times" - Ray Greene, Boxoffice Magazine
"...elements give actor Michael Rapapart a chance to really shine in a complex lead role."
- Jette Kernion, Cinematical
Special was the HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in November 2008.
Splinter
A young couple has retreated to the wilderness for a romantic camping
weekend — but the trip quickly spirals into a nightmare when they are carjacked
by an escaped convict and his girlfriend. Thrown together by chance, no one can
imagine the terrifying horror that awaits the two couples at a remote and isolated
gas station.
Magnet Releasing and Content Film International present in association with
Indion Entertainment Group and Kish Productions, a Toby Wilkins Film,
Splinter. Starring Shea Whigham, Paulo Costanzo, Jill Wagner, Rachel Kerbs.
Written by Ian Shorr, Kai Barry. Produced by Kai Barry, Ted Kroeber. Directed
by Toby Wilkins.
Splinter had its HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in October 2008.
Humboldt County
Peter is a medical student about to graduate, but when his professor fails him, he winds up in bed with Bogart, an actress and singer rolling through Los Angeles. He accompanies her to the northern tip of California, where he encounters her eccentric family of pot farmers. But when Bogart runs away without a word, Peter is thrust into the picturesque and bizarre world that is Humboldt County.
REVIEWS
“…character-driven comedy-drama…” - Joe Leydon, Variety
“…A MOVIE WITH REAL, HONEST TO GOODNESS ACTORS, AND A PRETTY
COMPELLING STORY…” - Stephen Collins, Newsvin
“…a smart, moving, and altogether canny glimpse into the heart of a shell-shocked American dream.…” - Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle
Humboldt County had its HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in September of 2009.
Mister Foe
Jamie Bell is Hallam Foe, a troubled young man whose knack for voyeurism paradoxically reveals his darkest fears, and his most peculiar desires. Driven to expose the true cause of his mother’s death, he instead inds himself searching the rooftops of the city of Edinburgh for love.
REVIEWS
“…PERFORMANCES, EVOCATIVE CINEMATOGRAPHY...RICHLY ENTERTAINING TALE OF ADOLESCENT ANGST…” - Neil Smith, The London Paper
“…a delirious, skewed perspective and an almost palpable sexual pulse…” - Damon Wise, Empire Magazine
“A VIEWING DELIGHT!” - Derek Elley, Variety
“…Erotic, well-acted and beautifully photographed” - Philip French, The Observer (UK)
Mister Foe had its HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in September 2008.
Red
After a random act of senseless violence, Avery Ludlow (Brian Cox) determines to find out who the teenaged boys are who commited the crime and why they did it. Helped by a local reporter (Kim Dickens), but opposed by the boys’ parents, a rich businessman (Tom Sizemore) and a hardscrabble laborer (Robert Englund) and his wife (Amanda Plummer), Avery single-mindedly presses for justice—with or without the law on his side.
REVIEW
“…MOMENTS OF PROFOUND INTROSPECTION…horror hounds are sure to appreciate this niche offering…” - Peter Debruge, VARIETY
Finding Amanda
From director Peter Tolan, creator of the hit television series Rescue Me, comes Finding Amanda, a hilarious and heartbreaking autobiographical comedy about the compulsions we can’t shake, and the unlikely lengths we’ll go to while trying.
Taylor Mendon (Matthew Broderick) is a television writer and producer working on a low-rated, little-respected half-hour sitcom. Once destined for bigger and better things, Taylor's compulsive gambling, recreational drug use and drinking all conspired to throw his career off the rails. After kicking the alcohol and drugs, he only has one more hurdle...the horses.
His beautiful twenty - year old niece Amanda (Brittany Snow) has her own habit to kick. Living in Las Vegas, working as a "dancer," her family has just discovered she is actually a prostitute, and they suspect hooking for drug money.
On their way home from an emergency family meeting, Taylor's wife Lorraine (Maura Tierney) finds recent racing stubs in Taylor's glove compartment. After years of standing by him, she leaves.
Taylor comes up with a plan: he'll win back his wife by doing the right thing. He'll go to Las Vegas, find Amanda, and deliver her to a rehabilitation center in Malibu. While he’s at it, he might even catch up with some old friends (like slimy casino host Steve Coogan). But besides that, it’s strictly the business at hand—while he's there, he vows, he won't gamble a single cent, but things don’t turn out quite as he’d planned.
Isaac Knott (Nick Stahl) is a Public Radio reporter in New York City. When he was eight, his mother and father died in an automobile accident that left him in a wheelchair.
On air, Isaac recounts how he recently received an anonymous tip from someone identified only as "Ancient Chinese Girl." She tells him a perfectly able-bodied man walked into an emergency ward downtown, and attempted to bribe a doctor into amputating his leg.
As Isaac investigates the eerie tip, he encounters Fiona (Vera Farmiga) who, through her own quandary, leads Isaac to a netherworld of people afflicted with a perverse desire to be disabled. Like a contemporary noir detective film, Quid Pro Quo follows Isaac as he embarks on a dream-like journey to pull back the layers of what makes people feel whole.
Reviews
“A strikingly original and provocative first feature. A detective story that morphs into a twisted romance. Lenser Michael McDonough amplifies the film's detective-fiction undercurrents and dreamlike feel with a noirish, amber-glow lighting scheme.” - Justin Chang,Variety
"Quid Pro Quo is impressively assured for a first feature -- Brooks is a guy who absolutely has a future in movies.” - Cody Clark, Salt Lake Daily Herald
“Illuminating with a good deal of humor & style, worth seeing for the two leads alone.” - Scot Weinberg, Cinematical.com
“Did somebody say ‘Hitchcock?’ the gloss of high style and the sprinkling of dark wit? Carlos Brooks' debut feature Quid Pro Quo, which is not a thriller at all – there isn't even a murder – but which nevertheless generates suspense through the odd relationship that develops between cool, blonde, chic Vera Farmiga – easily channeling Grace Kelly – and Nick Stahl's Jimmy Stewart-like disabled radio reporter.” - Pam Grady, FILMSTEW.COM
Surfwise follows the odyssey of 85-year-old, legendary surfer Dr. Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, his wife Juliette, and their nine children - all of whom were home-schooled on the beaches of Southern California, Hawaii, Mexico and Israel; they surfed every day of their lives, and were forced to adhere to a strict diet and lifestyle of animals in the wild, by their passionate and demanding, health-conscious father.
Directed by Doug Pray, this film features the entire Paskowitz family including: Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, Juliette Paskowitz and David Paskowitz.
Flawless is a clever thriller set in 1960s London with Demi Moore and Michael Caine as unlikely allies who set in motion a diamond heist of dizzying proportions, the likes of which London has never seen.
Flawless had its HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in March 2008. It was directed by Michael Radford and stars Michael Caine and Demi Moore.
Romulus, My Father is based on Raimond Gaita's critically acclaimed memoir. It tells the story of Romulus, his beautiful wife, Christina, and their struggle in the face of great adversity to bring up their son, Raimond. It is the tale of a boy trying to balance a universe described by his deeply moral father, against the experience of heartbreaking absence and neglect from a depressive mother. It is, ultimately, a story of impossible love that celebrates the unbreakable bond between father and son.
Romulus, My Father was directed by Richard Roxburgh and stars Eric Bana and Franka Potente. It had its HDNet Movies Sneak Preview in February 2008.
When five American college students arrive in Ireland to go on camping trip with their old college buddy Jake, they are in high spirits. Jake has promised them the ‘trip’ of a lifetime’ because he claims Ireland has the best magic mushrooms in the world. It sounded like it would be great fun. Now that they are tripping things don’t seem so funny. Bluto, one of the gang, is missing. Tara thinks he’s dead because she feels she has seen his death before but nobody believes her they think she is just out of it. They’re out of it too. That was the whole point of coming here, but there is something out there, something watching them, something that will kill them if they don’t get out of the forest and get help.
Directed by Paddy Breathnach
Starring: Lindsey Haun, Jack Huston, Max Kasch, Maya Hazen, Alice Greczyn, Rob Hoffman, Don Wycherley, and Sean McGinley.
London: present day. In lawless streets the guilty are left unhindered to go about their business. Returning from a tour of duty in Iraq, former Paratrooper Bryant (Sean Bean) is appalled by what he sees in a country he no longer recognizes. Determined to do something about it, he assembles a group of like minded souls who resolve to restore the balance between right and wrong, good and evil, enforcing justice with a brutality to match that of the once unpunished, unsuspecting wrongdoers. But when the law of the land is co-opted in this way, who decides when enough is enough?
A fictional story inspired by true events, Redacted is a unique cinematic experience that will force viewers to radically reconsider the filters through which we see and accept events in our world, the power of the mediated image and how presentation and composition influence our ideas and beliefs. A profound meditation on the way information is packaged, distributed and received in an era with infinite channels of communication, Redacted utilizes a variety of created source material—video diaries, produced documentary, surveillance footage, online testimonials, news pieces—to comment on the extreme disconnect between the surface of an image and the reality of ideas and the truth, especially in times of strife.
Centered around a small group of American soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in Iraq, Redacted alternates points of view, balancing the experiences of these young men under duress and members of the media with those of the local Iraqi people, illuminating how each have been deeply affected by the current conflict and their encounters with each other. The charged apotheosis of Brian De Palma’s filmmaking career, Redacted caps off a body of work which has explored the politics of image-making and reception more fully than any living filmmaker
When stoners Dexter and Royce mistakenly assume their friend Matilda has overdosed, they can’t call the cops because she’s OD’d on stolen drugs. So, they decide to bury her body themselves. Good news is she’s not dead. Bad news is she wakes up just in time to interrupt a Satanic cult performing a ritual sacrifice in the same place the guys were going to bury her. Our heroes end up on the run from the Satanists, the drug dealer they stole the stash from, and a gang of angry little people all while trying to pull off a heist of their own. It’s one crazy night in one crazy town!
Closing Escrow is the story of three quirky families seeking to buy their next home. Each has a reason for moving and a reason they don't get along with their real estate agent. All three families converge on the same property which inevitably goes into multiple offers. Who gets the house? Closing Escrow: A comedy about real estate.
When art student Ben Willis is dumped by his girlfriend Suzy, he develops insomnia. To pass the long hours of the night, he starts working the late night shift at the local supermarket. There he meets a colorful cast of characters, all of whom have their own 'art' in dealing with the boredom of an eight-hour-shift. Ben's art is that he imagines himself stopping time. This way, he can appreciate the artistic beauty of the frozen world and the people inside it - especially Sharon, the quiet checkout girl, who perhaps holds the answer to solving the problem of Ben's insomnia.
In a startling mature and nuanced performance, Parker Posey plays Nora Wilder, a thirty-something Manhattanite who is cynical about love and relationships, in this astute collaboration with first-time writer/director Zoe Cassavetes. Nora plugs away at her job in a posh downtown hotel and can't help but wonder what it is she has to do to find a relationship as ideal as her friend Audrey's (Drea De Matteo) "perfect marriage." It doesn't help that her overbearing mother (Gena Rowlands) takes every opportunity to remind Nora that she's still unattached.
After a series of disastrous first dates, she meets Julien (Melvil Poupaud), a seemingly devil-may-care Frenchman with a passion for living. Expecting another disastrous ending, Nora tries to avoid making the same mistakes. She finds herself in Paris looking to break old patterns. Inevitably, Nora has to look inward before she can find a new outlook on life and most importantly, love.
Broken English will be available on DVD August 21st.
REVIEWS
“A pitch-perfect lead performance by Parker Posey” – Dennis Harvey, VARIETY
“A must see for Sex and the City fans.” – Ruthe Stein, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“With Broken English, Cassavetes has reinvented an old genre and given it a decidedly new millennial spin, concocting a totally enjoyable and fresh approach to the well-explored "love story." – AOL Moviefone
“A career-defining performance for the exquisite Parker Posey.” – Dark Horizions.com
Fay Grim, a single mom from Woodside, Queens, is afraid her 14 year old son, Ned, will grow up to be like his father, Henry, who has been missing for seven years. Fay's brother Simon is serving ten years in prison for aiding in Henry's escape from the law. In the quiet of his cell, Simon has had time to think about the tumultuous years of Henry's presence among them--chronicled in Hartley's earlier film Henry Fool (1998). He has come to suspect that Henry was not the man he appeared to be. His suspicions are validated when the CIA asks Fay to travel to Paris to retrieve Henry's property. Her mission turns into a sprawling con-game, pitching Fay deep into a world of international espionage.
REVIEWS
“Hal Hartley’s funniest and sharpest movie in years. Reminiscent of the Marx Brothers.” – New York Magazine
“IT MAKES YOU DIZZY WITH ITS FRESHNESS. A modest masterpiece from Hal Hartley.” – Troy Patterson, Spin
“FANTASTIC AND DELIGHTFULLY OFFBEAT. Parker Posey is wonderfully sexy and archly funny.” – Dennis Dermody, Paper
“**** GRANDLY ENTERTAINING AND RELEVANT. Delirious and delectable, Fay Grim is one marvelous creation.” – Jason Clark, Slant
“A GEM. Just about as sharp and funny as a Hal Hartley fan could wish for.” – Kim Voynar, Cinematical.
Four best friends on Long Island in 1976 find their vocation threatened and their personal lives in flux in this bittersweet comedy-drama about the inevitability of change, and the necessity of embracing it.
Directed by Katherine Dieckmann from an original screenplay by Ken Marino. The film stars Paul Rudd, Marino, Josh Hamilton, Ron Eldard, Maura Tierney, Lauren Ambrose and Sarah Paulson.
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