Film

Actor James Gandolfini, best known for his multi-layered portrayal of a family man and mob boss on HBO's The Sopranos, has died unexpectedly, according to multiple news reports. He was 51. Born in New Jersey, Gandolfini made his Broadway debut in 1992, opposite Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange in a revival of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire Six foot tall and broad-shouldered, his hefty figure helped him to stand out as a brutal force in supporting roles; he fit quite naturally, for example, in the sleazy world created by Tony Scott and Quentin Tarantino in True Romance as a creep who beats up Patricia Arquette before receiving his comeuppance. He could be an incredibly strong performer with steel in his eyes, as in Tony... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]

Recently we started a New to Netflix column on Twitch for readers in the US, Canada and UK. We don't have Netflix in Australia (not that it wouldn't be welcome; Australian consumer advocate Choice has even written Netflix an open letter to bring its service here) so I've decided to start a New to iTunes column to fill the gap. I've recently started using the service quite a lot - despite occasional exorbitant prices, which really need to drop if the service is to become preferable to buying hard copies. However there are some good bargains to be found and films and TV worth shelling out for. [Twitch is not associated with iTunes in any way, this is just an acknowledgement that readers are accessing new... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]

Independent horror films are a dime a dozen, always have been. It's quite rare that something appears that is actually worth talking about. While most no-budget horror features spend their time ogling tits, and bits and pieces of viscera, Gut takes a decidedly more introspective route, and is all the more noteworthy for it. Gut eschews the notion that the only way to make anyone pay attention is to yell and instead makes the viewer think, fear, and ultimately makes them question their own motives in a similar way to films like Michael Haneke's Funny Games. A minor achievement on its own, but hopefully just a starting point for director Elias, who seems to have a knack for making viewers very uncomfortable.Tom is bored. Incredibly,... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]

James Gandolfini movies James Gandolfini died today of a suspected heart attack while in Rome, Italy. Although the 51-year-old actor’s fame rests on his role as mob boss Tony Soprano in the hit HBO series The Sopranos, which earned him three Emmy Awards, three SAG Awards, and one Golden Globe, Gandolfini was also featured in dozens of big-screen productions. Most notable among James Gandolfini’s movie are the following: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen’s The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), in which Gandolfini plays Big Dave Brewster, a boisterous department store owner who may be having an affair with Billy Bob Thornton’s wife, Frances McDormand, and who’s being (anonymously) blackmailed by Thornton himself. Steven Zaillian’s remake of All the King’s Men (2006), starring Sean Penn as a populist Southern politician, with Gandolfini as fellow ruthless politician Tiny Duffy, demoted to Lieutenant Governor. Armando Iannucci’s political satire In the Loop (2009), with Gandolfini as a "Pentagon brass hat who loathes civilian warmongers but remains uneasily loyal to the military," in the words of The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw. "This intelligent and well-observed performance from James Gandolfini," Bradshaw adds, "is easily his best work since The Sopranos." In the Loop was nominated for the 2009 Best Original Screenplay Academy Award. Jake Scott’s sentimental Welcome to the Rileys (2010), in which Gandolfini and his wife, Melissa Leo, find in Kristen Stewart’s pole dancer-cum-sex worker a replacement for their dead daughter. About Welcome to the Rileys, the Boston Globe‘s Ty Burr wrote, “You’re glad it’s not ‘Tony and Bella’s Big Adventure’ even as you suspect that might have been a lot more fun.” (Check out Welcome to the Rileys reviews.) Andrew Dominik’s New Orleans-set mob thriller Killing Them Softly (2012), with James Gandolfini as a New York hitman hired by Brad Pitt. Kathryn Bigelow’s highly controversial Best Picture Academy Award-nominated political thriller Zero Dark Thirty (2012), in which Gandolfini plays CIA director Leon Panetta. Among James Gandolfini’s other movies are Sidney Lumet’s A Stranger Among Us (1992), starring Melanie Griffith; Tony Scott’s True Romance (1994), with Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette; Tony Scott’s Crimson Tide (1995), with Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman; Sidney Lumet’s Night Falls on Manhattan (1996), with Andy Garcia; and Gore Verbinski’s The Mexican (2000), with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. Also: John Turturro’s Romance & Cigarettes (2005), with an all-star cast that includes Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Bobby Canavale, Steve Buscemi, and Barbara Sukowa; Tony Scott’s The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009), with John Travolta and Denzel Washington; Geoffrey Fletcher’s Violet & Daisy (2011), with Saoirse Ronan; and, most recently, Don Scardino’s The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), with Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, and Olivia Wilde. Upcoming James Gandolfini movies According to the IMDb, two James Gandolfini movies are currently in the post-production stages: Michaël R. Roskam’s crime drama Animal Rescue, featuring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, and Matthias Schoenaerts; and an untitled Nicole Holofcener project featuring Ben Falcone, Toni Collette, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Catherine Keener. James Gandolfini photo: Barry Wetcher. This post was originally published at Alt Film Guide (http://www.altfg.com/). Not to be republished without permission.

US 143m, 3D, Colour Director: Zack Snyder; Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Russell Crowe Superman never looked this good, or has been so exciting, as in Zack Snyder’s re-imagining of the Man of Steel. Though on the surface the film’s special effects have brought the ultimate superhero to life, like never before, it is the remarkably nimble screenplay which moves effortlessly throughout different periods of Superman’s life that is the strength to this surprisingly engaging story. The 3D process added nothing to the film’s appeal, and was more of a distraction from an otherwise excellent science fiction story (Klaus Ming June 2013).

We've run two behind the scenes videos for Crawlspace so far and this week we have the third, which looks at the process of shooting in the tunnels and ventilation shafts that made up the majority of the sets for the sci-fi thriller. Check it out below.Crawlspace screens at the Astor Theatre in Melbourne on Sunday 7 July followed by a Q&A.... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]

James Gandolfini has passed away at the age of 51 due to a suspected heart attack.

Following months of agonising teasers, the first full trailer for Anchorman: The Legend Continues has been unveiled – and it’s kind of a big deal. The new footage takes us back to the 80s, with Ron Burgundy and the news …

We're not getting tidbits from J.J. now the press onslaught for Star Trek has abated, but we are getting closer to Episode VII needing to get certain things in place, like, for example, a cast.If certain sites are to be believed (like this one, or this one, or this one) then the following cast descriptions have gone out into the aether for casting agents all over the planet to be on the lookout for the following: A young man aged between 20 and 25, witty and smart, fit but not classically handsomeMan in late twenties, also fit, but this one is handsome and confident.Late teenage girl, independent, good sense of humour, also... physically fit .Second young female, also late teens, tough, smart and physically fit.Man... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]

After rumours about the likes of David Cronenberg or Gus Van Sant taking on the reigns of one of the most popular novels of the decade, Deadline is reporting that Sam Taylor-Johnson is set to direct 50 Shades of Grey.Taylor-Johnson's previous films include 2008's Love You More and the 2010 Sundance film Nowhere Boy, which our Todd Brown quite liked, despite the challenges that the film's conceit has to overcome. The director's also received loads of tabloid press, for better or for worse, for marrying the much younger Aaron "Kick-Ass" Taylor-Johnson. Expect much to be made of this again when the tale of an older man seducing a younger woman gets bandied about in the tabloid media.I've not read the book, but do find the whole... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]